WITCH The Next Generation Act One
by Evilness321
Summary: <html><head></head>Wanda Olsen is a regular 14 year old girl living in San Francisco. She's quiet and shy, but loves music and hanging out with her best friends. Until Phobos appears and kidnaps their parents after a family reunion that is...</html>
1. Chapter 1

W.I.T.C.H- The New Generation

Chapter One: Return to Meridian

Alarms rang throughout the castle of Meridian. After years of peace, Phobos had escaped. And he escaped with a bang. Now he was in search of the ones who put him behind bars for so long, hiding in the depths of the world.

Queen Elyon sent a message with the page to the Guardians, who were living on Earth. She waited for word back from whomever the page made contact with...

Wanda was thirteen years old and lived in San Francisco with her parents, her mother Will and father Matt Olson. There was a reunion of the five families at her mother's house that day. She got on well with the children of her mother's friends, and often times broke up fights between Cerella- Cornelia's daughter, and Ingrid- Irma's daughter.

Wanda loved the lightning storms that often times struck near San Francisco. She stood outside reveling in the flashes of lightning even when her mother would be calling her in. Her hair was long and brown, much more different than her mother, but her eyes were the same shade of green. Wanda's favorite colors were violet and light pink.

Ingrid loved the water. She swam in it every day like she was born to swim. Ingrid was also incredibly smart, and great at chess. Ingrid's hair went just beyond the shoulder shoulder and was strawberry red with light blue streaks dyed into the front. Her favorite colors were navy blue and light blue.

Tress was Terrane's daughter, with black hair kept back in a knot at the nape of her neck, wearing glasses, and dark brown skin. She was fascinated by fire and model carving. Tress's favorite colors were fiery red, and black.

Cerella had long blond hair like her mother, and bright blue eyes. She loved fashion and anything related to the latest in jewelry, often being caught watching HSN on television when she wasn't with her father Caleb in Meridian. Green and Red were Cerella's favorite colors. Cerella also had a brother who was older than her by two years that practically lived in Meridian: Derek. He had brown hair and eyes like his father.

HuiLing was Hay Lin's daughter, with long black hair kept up in a braided knot that was done in Chinese fashion. White and bright pink were HuiLing's favorite colors.

The five thirteen year olds were in Wanda's room while the parents were in the large back yard getting the picnic dinner ready. Tress, Ingrid, and Cerella were playing with Wanda's Nintendo Wii console, while Wanda and HuiLing were sitting at a nice little round table by her big window that had a view of the city arguing about random things.

The two argued a lot, but it was all in fun. Right now they were arguing about weather or not Wanda had a crush on Cerella's older brother, which Wanda vehemently denied even though her face looked beat red while she said it.

"Don't tell me you can't ride a Chocobo!" Shouted Ingrid suddenly.

"Come on Tress! It's easy!" Said Cerella.

Wanda looked over at the screen just in time to see fire sprouting from Tress' hands in her frustration.

"Watch it!" She shouted, darting over and ripping the wand from her friend's hands just in time.

"What was that all about?" Blinked Ingrid. "Sudden human combustion?"

"No! I mean... I don't know. It happens when I get irritated or angry. It didn't used to be so bad." Blinked a stunned Tress, looking at her singed hand.

"I'll get some cloth and ice." Said Cerella at once, putting her Wii wand down and striding out the door. She knew this house just as well as her own.

On the first floor, Cerella was in the kitchen when Will and Cornelia entered.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were playing with the girls in Wanda's room." Blinked Cornelia.

"Yeah. Tress burned her hands again, though. So I just need a cloth for the ice pack..." Cerella was bending over not noticing the look on the two woman's faces as she said "HA! Here it is!" She pulled out an old, ragged looking white cloth, wrapped it around the ice pack she already pulled out, then went back up to Wanda's room after saying "See you at dinner!" To her mom and Will.

"Here you go." Cerella reached the room and wrapped it around Tress' hand.

"Does this mean we don't get to play the game anymore?" Asked HuiLing.

"Tress burnt her hands and video games are all you can think of?" Asked an irritated Ingrid.

"Calm down, Ingrid!" Said Wanda rather quickly. "We can always play after she heals up. It doesn't take as long as it used to."

"Right, sorry!" Smiled HuiLing, rather embarrassed at herself now. She suddenly felt a sneeze coming on when a warm breeze went through the open window. When she sneezed, air blasted with such force that it knocked the girls over, and broke windows in Wanda's room.

At that moment, Will, Irma, Terrane, Cornelia, Hay Lin and Caleb all looked up from the fenced in back yard.

"Sounds like your daughter sneezed again." Said Caleb to HayLin, who looked rather guilty.

"That's the third time this week I've had to replace those windows..." Said Will, looking very irritated.

"I'll go see if the girls are all right." Said Irma rather quickly. "You wanna come, Corny?"

"Yeah, sure!" Agreed Cornelia, also sensing danger in the atmosphere.

HuiLing was standing, staring aghast at the mess she had made. The other four girls were blown over, Tress with her ice pack and cloth smacked on her face instead of her hands, her glasses askew, nearly broken. Wanda was nearly sitting on her shoulders, her back up against the wall, feeling like she had cracked something with glass on it. Cerella was up against Wanda's bed, hanging on to it for dear life, and Ingrid had knocked over the very table HuiLing and Wanda had been sitting at, looking stunned.

"Sorry!" Said HuiLing rather quickly. "I've been doing this a lot lately!"

"Is anyone hurt?" Asked Cornelia as shouts could be heard from down below. Caleb soon joined the two, glad to escape the wrath of Wanda's mother.

"No, we're all fine... windblown, but fine." Said Tress, fixing her glasses on right.

"Looks like you mean that in literal terms." Caleb crossed his arms, watching his daughter stand up and straighten out her skirt, looking much like her mother as she did so.

Wanda did a sort of summersault, which was made easy by her jeans, to straighten herself up, pulling her hair back behind her shoulders.

HuiLing looked over as her mother, Terrane, and Will came to survey the damage.

"Sorry about that, Auntie." She said to Will.

"Well, no harm done. We can pay for the windows no problem. Anyway, just wanted to let you know, dinner's ready." Smiled Will. Her anger ebbed away at HuiLing's apology.

The group tromped down the stairs into the backyard, which smelled of Hay Lin's excellent cooking.

"Too bad my mother can't cook like this." Said Cerella.

"I heard that young lady!" Snapped Cornelia.

"Eh-heh!" Cerella put a hand behind her head as they lined up at the barbeque.

"Prepare for China's best!" Said Hay Lin as though she were advertising the restaurant she had inherited from her grandmother.

"Honestly mom, we're not working. Why advertise a place everybody here already knows about?" Sighed HuiLing.

"Lighten up! It's all in fun!" Said Hay Lin enthusiastically. "You girls should come back to Heatherfield sometime in the near future, we could have a REAL feast!"

"Yeah, we should!" Said Terrane.

So the families sat at an extended picnic table, ate their food, caught up on old news, and the new. Until finally dark arrived, when the families separated. All but Will's were going to hotels for the night.

"See you tomorrow!" Said Cornelia.

Wanda was actually glad to see the girls leave. Even though they had cleaned up the mess, she still was not thrilled about all the noise.

"Finally." She sighed.

"Come now, it wasn't all that bad." Said Matt, placing a hand on her shoulder rather roughly. "Too bad Derek couldn't make it." He added in an off hand voice.

"What are you implying by that, DAD?" Wanda added with a sharpness to her voice that made her sound like a clone of her mother.

"Oh nothing. Just that you and he always seem to get on so well. I overheard Cornelia saying something about that." He said quickly as they walked back into their house.

"Just because we're friends doesn't mean anything else, you hear me dad?" Snapped Wanda irritably.

Will smiled, then blinked when she felt a small heat in her chest, and noticed the Heart of Kandrikor was glowing. She quickly hid the glow by stuffing it down her shirt.

"Wanda, why don't you get your milk and go to bed. Mom and I need to talk." Said Matt, seeing the glow.

"Fine. Good night." Sulked Wanda. Will bent down to kiss her daughter goodnight, Wanda scowled, and Matt muffled up her hair before she finally retreated.

"It's glowing again." Said Will. "It hasn't' reacted to anything in years."

"Maybe it means danger is approaching." Matt leaned against the wall.

"No, it doesn't act as an alarm bell for enemies... it only glowed like this when it was close to the leader of W.I.T.C.H. after being separated." Will shook her head.

"But you're right here, wearing it. You're still the leader." Said Matt.

"I used to be..." Will looked in the direction her daughter had skulked off in.

Matt followed her eyes.

Wanda was in her room finishing her glass of milk when she heard her mother scream out. And her father shout something in audible.

Night had fallen completely.

Running from her room down the hall way, thanking God that she had not changed into her night gown yet for it would make it much harder to run, she skid to a halt at the door. Now she heard the loud crashes and bangs.

"Mom...?" She said in a barely audible whisper, terrified of what she might find in there.

"Leave her alone, Lizard boy!" Shouted her father.

"Stay back Matt!" Her mother shouted, throwing what sounded something like glass. Then she heard a voice that sent a chill down her spine.

"The leader of the Guardians... Again we meet." It was the voice of a man, but it sounded more part lizard than human.

"What do you want, Cedric?" Asked her father.

"Revenge!" Shouted the giant lizard just as Wanda had opened the door.

She opened it just in time to see a giant green lizard with long white hair lunge at her mother and father.

"Mom! Dad!" Shouted Wanda, leaping forward.

"No! Stay back!" Shouted Will and Matt.

Phobos looked at Wanda with a gleam in his eyes.

"I'll deal with you later, child." He hissed.

It happened in a flash, Cedric jumped towards Will and Matt, knocking Wanda aside, into Will's dresser top mirror with his tail. Grabbed her parents, and a flash of light appeared in front of him.

Will tore off the Heart of Kandrikor from her neck and tossed it on the ground near Wanda's feet during the few seconds that Cedric was focussed on grabbing her and Matt and not caring what she was doing. The last thing Wanda heard was her mother shouting her name before she blacked out on the floor...

It was all a dream, she told herself. This throbbing in my head is just because of the company last night.

She heard her cell phone in her pocket ringing over and over.

That is just HuiLing calling to bug me about Derek again...

Slowly she opened her eyes, then realized in an instant it had not been a dream. This mess was still here, yet her parents were completely gone. All that remained was her mother's precious jewel necklace that lay at her feet. Reaching into her pocket, she picked up her phone and looked at the caller I.D. It was a four way call... But all at once?

"Hello?" She said slowly, as her head still ached.

"Wanda! My mom and dad are gone!" Shouted HuiLing into her phone.

"What kept you, Wanda? We've been calling for hours!" Tress also sounded panicked.

"We thought you were kidnapped too!" Said Cerella.

"Are you all right?" Asked Ingrid when there was a long pause.

"My mom and dad are gone too... I tried to stop it from taking them... but it knocked me out completely." Said Wanda with some effort, trying to remember what happened.

"They must have struck your place last..." Said Ingrid.

"Dad called him Lizard Boy... And mom called him Cedric..." Said Wanda.

"I remember mom saying something about that too before she vanished." Replied HuiLing.

"Is there any clue as to their disappearance?" Asked Ingrid.

"Only Mom's jewel. It was left right at my feet when I woke up just now." Said Wanda.

"We'll be over there in fifteen minutes!" The girls all said at once. "Just hang in there, we'll be there!"

"Ok." Wanda gave an unseen nod, keeping the fear she felt in her voice to a minimum.

She hung up her phone and stared around in numb shock. She started to tremble when she saw her mothers jewel, and that it was glowing a red light.

Sooner than later, she heard footsteps, and then the four girls appeared at the doorway.

"Wanda!" HuiLing was first to launch herself into Wanda's arms to give her a reassuring hug.

"Our mothers and fathers are gone too..." Said Ingrid, sitting on her other side.

"So is that the jewel?" Asked Cerella, looking at the necklace.

"Yeah. It's been glowing like that ever since mom and dad vanished." Nodded Wanda. She could not bring herself to say the word "Taken away."

"There's only one thing to do then..." Said Tress, who also joined the group. "Pick it up and see what happens."

"Hey, maybe it'll lead us to our parents!" Said Cerella on a whim.

"Maybe." Nodded Ingrid.

"Wow, your brain cells DO work!" Said HuiLing.

"Hush, you're not that much better." Snapped Cerella.

"Ok... Here goes..." Sighed Wanda.

She reached forward, and grabbed the jewel.

Almost instantly she felt warmth spread throughout her body as light filled the room. She felt herself being jerked forward mere seconds after grabbing the jewel.

"Wanda!" The girls all grabbed hold of her trying to pull her back, but the pull from the jewel was too strong even for the four of them and their combined strength. The jewel ended up pulling the five girls together in a flash of light through what felt like water mixed with air...

Caleb stared in stunned silence. His daughter was on top of the pile of girls, one of which was holding on to the Heart of Kandrikor as though for dear life.

The girls landed with a rather loud thud while screaming at the top of their lungs as they fell from the sky from a portal. And they landed during an emergency meeting between Caleb and Queen Elyon.

"What is this? I thought the children didn't know about Meridian." Said Elyon in alarm. "Isn't that what you just got through telling me?"

"What I'd like to know is why they're dressed up like the guardians..." Said Caleb, walking over as the girls untangled themselves.

"That's the last time I let you suggest anything new..." Said Wanda to Cerella.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Caleb staring down at them.

"Uh... Dad... Hi!" Said Cerella nervously, still on her hands and knees and looking up at him.

"What are you doing here?" Blinked HuiLing.

"That's what I'd like to know from you young ladies." Caleb looked from one guilty face to the next.

"Sorry... Mom always told me not to touch her necklace... but when she was taken by this giant lizard guy... thing... I woke up and saw it at my feet. The girls suggested I pick it up... And I did..." Said Wanda rather quickly and all in one breath.

"Wait... Did you say giant lizard?" Elyon stood up and walked over.

"Yeah. Why?" Blinked Wanda.

"Phobos... It's gotta be him." Said Caleb, suddenly serious. "And these girls..."  
>"Have been chosen as the next Guardians of Meridian." Smiled Elyon. "Your mother told us of your development with your powers, HuiLing." She said.<p>

"What about our mother and fathers?" Asked Tress. "How are we going to get them back?"

"First we need to find Phobos' new hideout. And to do that, I've already dispatched Derek. He should-" Elyon blinked as a boy came running up. "Ah, speaking of. How was your search?"

"Successful, My Lady." Said Derek, panting heavily.

Wanda blinked, looking at him wearing clothes she had never seen him wear before. He wore a long tail coat, black pants, a black shirt, and thick leather boots that were caked in mud and weather worn. His hair was brown and short like his fathers, but his eyes were blue like his mothers.

"Good. We must inform the guardians at once then." Smiled the Queen.

"Where are they? I thought they were on Earth." Blinked Derek, having not noticed the girls yet.

"A bit dense, isn't he?" Asked Ingrid in a whisper to Cerella, who sniggered.

"Right here." Elyon pointed at the five girls in the outfits that their mothers once wore.

Derek had to do a double take when he saw Wanda.

"Ok genius, where's Lizard Boy's hide out?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. She liked to tease Derek every now and then.

"Down in the southern plateau of Meridian, in the swamp lands." He said. "It will take some time to get there."

"Then the Guardians should get a head start." Said Caleb. "But they can't go alone."

"I have an idea, why not let Derek take us there?" Asked Ingrid. "He knows this land just as well as Mr. Caleb does probably."

HuiLing and Wanda burst out laughing as they always did when Ingrid used this term of respect for Caleb.

"What?" Blinked Ingrid.

"Never mind, never mind." Said Wanda, wiping her eyes.

"First you will need some training to get used to your powers. The gardens should be the perfect spot." Said Elyon. "Once you have developed your powers and teamwork, you will be able to proceed with the main mission: The retrieval of your families. Caleb and Derek can help you in your training."

"Great... another baby sitting job." Sighed Caleb.

"Hey!" Snapped Tress, fire crackling in her hands at her sudden rage.

"It's not my choice to become a Guardian." Huffed Wanda, who was ignoring the fact that Derek was looking at her again.

"Right... Any way to stay close to Derek." Smirked HuiLing.

"It's not what you think!" Shouted Wanda, her face bright pink yet again, almost matching the shade of pink on her outfit.

"Really now? Care to prove it?" Ingrid also joined in on the teasing.

"I'll get some rooms ready for the girls." Smiled Elyon at Caleb, who was staring aghast as the five girls started arguing yet again in the throne room that was usually so peaceful and calm...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two-

The Training Begins

Wanda and the girls were in her room.

"Wow, this place is so cool!" Said Tress in astonishment. She could not believe she was in a real castle.

"I know, and so fashionable!" Smiled Cerella, already in Meridian robes, the shade of earthy green. She looked right at home in this castle.

Even Ingrid, who normally did not like dresses, enjoyed her robes- ocean blue and lavender. Wanda was the only one who was not in her robes.

"Come on, Wanda!" HuiLing grinned.

"No way am I going to wear anything that makes me look like I'm in my pajamas." Snapped Wanda, her arms crossed over her chest in a way that stated quite clearly that she was not going to change in to her robes- purple with light pink- that were laying on a velvet red couch.

HuiLing's robes were sky blue and aquamarine.

There came a knocking at their door.

"I'll get it!" Called Cerella. She strode over to the door and opened it. "What's up?" She asked unceremoniously to her older brother.

"Dad just wanted me to let you know that training starts right after breakfast tomorrow morning." Replied Derek, glancing past her at the other girls.

"Right. I'll show them where the Great Hall is. You can ogle Wanda during training. Now if you'll excuse us, we're trying to wrestle her in her robes." Smiled Cerella, shoving Derek back out into the hall.

Derek caught a glimpse of her standing stalk still, arms crossed, and glaring disgustedly at the robes laying on the couch, still in her Earth clothes before Cerella slammed the door shut.

"Girls."

Cerella heard him say as he walked away.

"Now... Back to where we were." She turned around, an evil look on her face matched only by HuiLing's expression.

"I'm not getting into that thing, and that's final." Snapped Wanda.

Will stood in her cell with the others.

"So, here we are back in Meridian." Cornelia's voice was full of sardonicism.

"I wonder how the girls are." Terrane sighed, leaning against the rock wall.

"Well, since Caleb and Elyon are at the castle, I'm sure they're fine." Irma pointed out. "By the way, Will, what did you do with the Heart of Kandrikor?"

Will opened her mouth to answer, when a giant green lizard came slithering towards them from down the hall.

"I would like to know that too." Said Phobos, appearing at their cell entrance as well.

"Well, you're not going to get any information out of me, lizard boy." Snapped Will.

"Is that so? What about if I told you I knew where your children were?" Smiled Phobos.

A look of alarm briefly flitted across the parents' faces.

"And how would you know something like that?" Asked Cornelia.

"Because the traitor is no longer with you. There is one of your group missing." Phobos was speaking about Caleb.

"I know for a fact that they are with him, and because they have no powers, crushing them will be easy." Phobos smiled.

"Except you don't know where HE is." Irma pointed out.

"That will be easy. Once I find out where the Guardian has hidden the Heart of Kandrikor, I will find your children and the traitor." Said Phobos as he turned away. He and Cedric left the cell.

"So... where DID you hide it?" Asked Hay Lin to Will.

Will made sure no one was listening in before turning to them.

"I left it with Wanda. Hopefully she and the girls will learn how to use it." She explained in a low voice.

"Elyon will be able to help teach them how to use their powers." Nodded Terrane.

"Either that or Caleb and my son." Nodded Cornelia.

"Right... Derek will probably do more flirting with Wanda than training." Smirked Irma.

The others couldn't help but laugh at that comment.

"Either way, I just hope they learn how to use their powers in time. I won't be able to keep this from Phobos or lizard boy for long." Said Will after the laughter had died down.

"I'm sure we'll see them before too long." Matt said bracingly. "Wanda's a tough kid, and so are the others."

"So long as HuiLing learns to control her sneezes." Terrane muttered.

HuiLing gave an evil grin.

"Guys, I have an idea on how to get her in to some robes. But it's going to be a bit of a team effort." She said to the other three.

"Well, what is it? We're all ears." Said Ingrid.

"Well the plan is pretty simple. We will need a trash can, the metal kind, Wanda's clothes from home, Tress, and a good excuse to get into Wanda's room and get the clothes... So... Ingrid, since Wanda would never suspect you, I want you to go in and if she is awake tell her that the maid lady asked her to gather up everyone's clothes for washing. I know there will be clothes in the rooms, they wouldn't expect us to wear the same thing everyday. Bring her clothes out here. Someone needs to get the trash can. When we have the clothes and trash can we will go into my room put the clothes in the trash can, open the window, Tress will light the clothes on fire, and I will use air to blow the smoke out the window. No one will ever suspect a thing. That way she won't have a choice in the morning but to wear one of the boring dress robe things, or the ones that Cerella will so thoughtfully bring to start up the argument again." HuiLing practically danced around as she finished the statement.

"Shhh Someone is coming!" Tress hissed as Derek came around the corner of the hallway back to their room to send them off again.

"I thought you girls were going to bed?" It felt weird calling them girls, but it was weirder to call them ladies, or women, or whatever phrase it was that people used with the female sort. It was easy normally. There wasn't anyone here his age so it was always Your Highness, Ma'am, or Mom. But he wasn't exactly sure how to address the group in front of him. His sharp eyes noticed that wanda was missing from the gaggle. "At least one of you had enough sense to go into your room and get some sleep for tomorrow. I suggest you all follow her example. Its going to be a long hard day tomorrow and none of you are getting out of it. No matter how tired you are." He strolled down the hall and out of sight before stepping up to the corner. He couldn't go to bed without being seen with the girls all standing right there, so he then turned and went to Wanda's room to make sure she was following the Queen's orders.

Cerella grinned behind her older brother's back. "What he doesn't know won't hurt the guy." She said. "I'm going to get to work on her robes for tomorrow." And she trotted off. Making and designing clothes was her favorite of all things to do. This was her element- like when she was in the mountains surrounded by nature.

Ingrid ran into her room after Derek so kindly told them that they should be in bed, changed out of her regular clothes, figuring it would be more believable if she had her own clothes in hand. She walked out and across the hall, winking at the other girls- who were peering through HuiLing's bedroom door which stood ajar- and knocked on Wanda's door.

"Hey, its Ingrid. The maid said she needed all of our clothes so she could wash them. Will you hand me yours?" She hoped she had made her voice as inconspicuous as possible. Tress slipped into her room, as did HuiLing and they both tossed Ingrid their clothes, so that she had a growing pile in her hands, before slipping back into their rooms. Ingrid stood in front of the door impatiently.

Wanda glared. First Derek had been here to make sure she was following the Queen's orders, and now Ingrid was here. But she had no choice, so she put on some plain robes and handed Ingrid her regular Earth clothes after she finished changing. She could hear Cerella busy in the next room over, probably sewing or something that had to do with clothes.

"Right. See you bright and early tomorrow!" Smiled Ingrid, making sure Wanda could see the pile of clothes. She stared at the door that had slammed shut in her face. "Boy, talk about moody tonight."

She turned and saw Queen Elyon walking down the hall way towards them.

"A plan to get Wanda into Meridian clothing?" She smiled at Ingrid. "I won't tell." She added with a wink before moving past her.

Ingrid blushed at the fact that the Queen could see through her so easily, but hurried to HuiLing's room, where she and Tress were now gathered again. Cerella was still busy at work making a set of fancy dress robes for Wanda in the morning to choose from.

"Great! And look what Tress found in her room!" Said HuiLing when they were all back in her room. Tress had managed to find a large trash can.

"Apparently Her Highness likes to be able to use the garbage cans... So try not to incinerate it AND our clothes, ok?" Asked Ingrid.

"Right... So here goes..." Tress looked at the garbage can and raised her hands. "Ok fire... any time..." She said, trying to focus herself to make fire appear while HuiLing rushed to her window and opened it up.

But for several minutes, she could not even get a spark.

"Nothing's happening." Said Ingrid.

"I don't have anything to be irritated or angry at right now, that's my problem." Sighed Tress, rubbing her forehead.

"Hey everybody! I've got the first set made already!" Cerella came bursting in to the room, startling them all so much that even Tress was able to get fire going at last.

"How about that." Smiled Ingrid, pointing at Cerella.

"What?" Cerella blinked.

"We were just trying to find something to get Tress' powers working is all." HuiLing grinned.

"Next time you're having trouble, we'll just ask Cerel' here to barge in unannounced." Ingrid looked at Tress, who managed to form a ball of fire in her hands and was even able to aim it correctly.

"Anyway, what do you think? Isn't purple Wanda's color or what?" Cerella overlooked the comments made by her friends and held up the robes she had put together.

"That'll look good on her if we can get her in them." Said Ingrid. "I doubt even having her clothes burned will change her opinion."

"Well, like I said, she'll have to choose between the boring ones provided by the maid, or the nice, elegant, fancy ones so kindly provided by Cerel' here." Smiled HuiLing. "She'll just bring them into her room tomorrow and the argument can start up all over again."

"Uh... guys... this fire is getting a little out of hand." Said Tress suddenly.

"Okay... does any of us know who controls water?" Asked Cerella quickly.

"Um... Ingrid practically lives in the pool back home." Said HuiLing.

"Well, try putting out the fire before it burns these robes!" Cerella backed up to the door.

"Right... Here goes." Ingrid looked at the fire and raised her hand. She imagined herself in the water again, and she could almost feel it flowing through her. Doing her best, a large ball of water formed at her hands and made a zig-zag line to the fire and Tress, knocking her over at the same time it put out the fire.

"Well, the clothes are officially ruined." Said HuiLing, walking over to the now charred trash can.

"And it looks like Her Highness won't be using that trash can again anytime soon." Said Ingrid.

"What were you trying to do, double duty or something?" Asked a completely soaked Tress.

"I'm going to go make the other two robes for Wanda. I'll see you girls in the morning." Smiled Cerella.

"Right. We'd all better go get some shut eye. Otherwise we'll be feeling it in the morning." Nodded Ingrid.

"Great, just leave me to clean up this mess..." Glared HuiLing.

"Don't look like that. Smiles suit you much better." Cerella said to HuiLing as she left.

It was the morning hours at least, and Derek could hear arguing from Wanda's room this time, instead of HuiLing's. He knocked on the door.

"What is this? A mutiny?" Wanda was to be heard asking when he knocked.

"Don't come in, big brother. Angry girl alert." Called Cerella.

"Ok, fine. But we need to go down to breakfast." Replied Derek.

The door snapped open and Derek stared down, blinking at Wanda. She was wearing new robes that his younger sister had put together- lavender and light pink. And it was amazing the difference it made on her, even if she wore a scowl on her face. As long as he had known her, she normally just wore jeans and a t-shirt.

"What?" Snapped Wanda, walking past him, followed by the girls who were all looking rather pleased.

"What's with you?" Asked Cerella, noticing that her older brother was rather pink in the face as Wanda walked by.

"Nothing." Said Derek quickly, coughing. He led the way down to the Throne Room.

Cerella and Ingrid looked at each other, finding it rather hard to conceal their laughter at this moment.

Glaring down at her plate, Wanda sat in her chair still wearing her lavender and light pink robes. HuiLing was looking rather pleased with herself as she sat next to Wanda.

"Well, I must say it's a nice change from your usual jeans and t-shirt." Cerella had to agree with HuiLing.

"I'm only doing this because I have no other choice." Glared Wanda.

"Hurry up and eat. We need to get this training out of the way." Caleb said rather impatiently.

"Yes master, whatever you say master." Ingrid huffed.

Even Wanda forgot about being angry at the girls and snorted with laughter at Caleb's expression in response to Ingrid's statement.

So, after breakfast in the Great Hall with Elyon presiding over the meal and guests, Caleb and Derek led the girls to the gardens.

"This is amazing!" Shouted HuiLing, staring at all the tall rose bushes, neatly trimmed hedges, and the conifer trees all around them.

"Time to focus." Said Caleb. "Wanda, do you have your mother's jewel?"

"Of course." Wanda pulled it out of her robe pocket.

"Be careful with that and guard it with your life. That is the source of your powers. It is called the Heart of Kandrikor, and allows you to transform into the Guardians of Meridian." Explained Caleb.

"Okay, so how do we transform Einstein?" Asked Ingrid.

"Wanda, whenever your parents transformed, your mother always held up the Heart of Kandrikor and said 'Guardians Unite.'" He replied. "They would also stand in a circle before transforming." He added as though in afterthought.

"Right." Wanda nodded.

The girls stood in a circle next to a fountain.

"Guardians Unite!" She said, holding up the Heart of Kandrikor.

The Heart of Kandrikor glowed a bright red light that shot in five beams at each of the girls. Wanda was engulfed in a lightning-white ball of light. Ingrid was surrounded by a water-blue ball of light, Tress was engulfed by a fiery red-orange ball of light, Cerella by an earthy green ball of light, and HuiLing by a sky-blue ball of light. When they emerged, they were in the outfits of the Guardians and looking almost a year older than they were.

Wanda actually loved her blue skirt and boots. Cerella was ecstatic over her outfit.

"This... Is so cool!" Said Ingrid, looking down at her purple skirt with a slit on the left side.

"What do we have on our backs?" Asked HuiLing when she saw Cerella spinning around on the spot.

Wanda tried to crane her head back to see.

"It's wings!" Shouted HuiLing. "We have wings!" And if she had known it, she was reacting just as her mother had when she realized she could fly.

"Sweet!" Said Wanda. "I wonder how it works..."

It only took HuiLing a few seconds to take flight, and soon she was zooming all around the gardens. Wanda was next to figure it out, and she quickly caught up with HuiLing. Both girls had always loved being in the sky ever since they were children.

Derek watched the two girls zooming around the sky and gardens, at one point HuiLing sent Wanda spinning in a circle when the two collided in mid-air.

"So cool!" Said Tress, and she too took to the air, followed by Ingrid, then finally Cerella at a look from her father.

"All right, now that you three have had practice with flying, try using your powers." Said Caleb after he waved them back to the ground.

"Exactly how do we do that?" Tress looked rather skeptical. "The only time we've ever done something with them we've had no idea how it happens."

"Well... you were irritated at that video game when you burnt your hands the other day." Said Cerella.

"And HuiLing sneezed when she blasted out Wanda's room." Ingrid remembered.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." Wanda said when she remembered that incident again. HuiLing gave an embarrassed grin.

"Well, the power always comes from our hands, or in HuiLing's case, her sneezes." Ingrid added as though in afterthought.

"Well, then maybe we just have to focus our powers." Tress blinked, adjusting her glasses.

"Yeah, like when you tried to burn our clothes and couldn't even get a spark." Smiled Ingrid back at her.

"What was that?" Asked Wanda, glaring.

"Nothing!" Tress clamped her hand over Ingrid's mouth rather quickly at this point.

Wanda blinked, staring at the girls.

HuiLing waved one of her hands, wondering if she could get a gust of wind going. She just got a tiny wave of air to go around her.

"I wonder... My mom could always get plants and flowers to grow just by raising her hands..." Cerella put the palm of her right hand facing down to the ground, and flowers and a new rose tree sprang forth, forcing her into the air and getting tangled in the branches.

"Lightning... I always see it coming in a burst of energy back home..." Wanda looked around for something she could shoot her lightning at that would not damage the garden as Cerella had just done. And she got an idea.

Focussing all of her energy to her hands, she saw sparks of white lightning forming in her hands, she then flew over to the giant tree that Cerella was stuck in and touched her hands to it. The entire tree became a lightning rod temporarily, and Cerella was able to get free. After that, she fell several feet before learning how to use her wings like HuiLing and Wanda.

"You certainly are learning faster than your parents did." Said Caleb.

"Maybe because there's time to learn this time around." Elyon had joined them.

Wanda stared down at the ruler, surprised by her arrival. HuiLing took advantage at her distraction and waved both hands right at Wanda, knocking her down from the air with a powerful gust and 'gently' directing her fall right into Derek.

The two landed in a particularly thorny rose bush.

"Oops! Sorry!" Said HuiLing, flying over.

"Nice one, HuiLing." Ingrid was smirking at the sight that was before them.

Derek was stuck in the rose bush with Wanda right on top of him, also stuck in the rose bush. When Derek opened his eyes, his face went red.

"A little help here?" Asked Wanda, who could not move.

"Right." Cerella raised her right hand, and the rose bush moved away from the two. Derek collapsed on his back when he landed on the ground, and Wanda quickly moved.

"Talk about your awkward moments." Tress was smiling.

"I think we've destroyed enough of the gardens for today. Don't you?" Wanda looked over at Caleb, with her hands on her hip.

"You've earned a break." He nodded.

Wanda pulled out the Heart of Kandrikor. There was a flash of red light, and the girls reverted back to their original forms, wearing their Meridian robes again.

"I'm starved." Cerella stretched out her arms.

"Yeah, destroying the Queen's garden can really work up an appetite." Agreed Ingrid.

"I wonder what's to eat for lunch." Said Wanda.

"Well, I was just coming down to see how your progress- or lack thereof- was." She added.

"They still need a lot of work to do before they can take on Phobos and his cronies." Caleb told the Queen. "Wanda nearly electrocuted my daughter trying to get her down from a tree."

"Yeah, thanks a lot. My hair nearly got singed." Growled Cerella.

Wanda gave an embarrassed smile.

"There's a tragedy. Let's inform the press, shall we?" Ingrid pulled her hair back behind her ears.

The girls banter carried all the way back into the castle.

"I wonder what kind of food they serve here." Wanda said.

"Well, if it's anything like Sheffield Institute's food, it's nothing special." Tress was not enthusiastic about this.

"Come on, breakfast was not that half bad. You have to admit, for foreign food." Ingrid looked back at Tress.

"Says you. But eggs are not my favorite breakfast food." Glared Tress.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know Tress hates eggs." Cerella waved one wearied hand.

"Woah!" Wanda said when the Queen opened up the door to the Throne Room, where they had eaten the last two meals.

The table was ladened with food such as they had not seen before, but it all looked and smelled delicious.

"Well, as they say back home, let's dig in!" HuiLing dashed forward, nearly bumping into Wanda.

Wanda was not shy about trying new things, but if it was spicy, she would just give it to Tress, who inhaled spicy foods unlike anyone she had seen.

"Don't eat too much or you won't have the energy for training this afternoon." Elyon warned.

After lunch, the girls were back outside.

"So, who's turn was it again to give some damage to the Queen's gardens?" Asked Ingrid.

"You and Tress." Replied Wanda. She held out the Heart of Kandrikor. "Guardians Unite!" She called out.

Phobos raised his left hand, and sand came pouring from it into a pool, which turned into an image.

"Interesting." He hissed. "So the Heart of Kandrikor has passed on to their daughters..." He said, seeing the girls transformed in the Queen's royal gardens.

"I can go give them a proper greeting, my Prince." Said Cedric. "Their powers are not yet fully developed..."

"Very well." Nodded the Prince.

Ingrid was first to act when they were transformed again. She raised her hands, and all of the water from the nearby fountain floated up into the air and took the shape of...

"Not bad!" Smiled Elyon.

Tress put her hands forward, and a burst of fire shot towards the tree that Cerella had grown earlier that morning. Ingrid at once sent the water right at the flames just as it hit the tree.

"Thank you, thank you very much!" She bowed her head, floating in the air since she learned how to use her wings properly now.

Alarms suddenly sounded throughout the castle, warning of an intruder.

"That's impossible! No one can get through my defenses!" Elyon said.

"You guys stay here! The Queen and I will go see what the problem is." Caleb told the group at once.

"Can't we help, dad?" Asked Cerella.

"No. You're still in training. You need more practice." Caleb said so firmly that it was clear it would be pointless to argue.

"What say we fly up to see what's going down?" Asked Ingrid once Caleb and Elyon had left the gardens.

"No way." Said Derek, grabbing Wanda's arm as she nodded and started to take flight.

"We're just going to check things out." She turned in surprise.

"Dad told us to stay here. If you go up and 'check things out' the enemy will be able to spot you plain as day." He looked right at her, an expression so serious he looked like his father for a moment.

"Relax. If anything happens we'll just come right back down and let Prince Charming protect us." Cerella gave him the 'sad puppy dog eyes' look. "Please, big brother?"

"Eh... fine. Don't blame me if the enemy finds us." He let go of Wanda. He hated it when his younger sister looked at him like that while teasing him.

"Great! See you on the flip side!" Said Tress, already in the air.

The five girls flew up around the hedges and the great wall that surrounded the gardens, looking down below for any signs of the intruder.

"There he is!" Ingrid pointed to a man that was cloaked, walking towards the castle as though returning to his long lost home.

Suddenly he stopped walking, and let out a howl that pierced the sky, before there was a flash of white light and...

"That's the guy who took mom and dad!" Said Wanda so loudly that even Derek looked up.

Anger was coursing through her as she remembered the events of just the previous day, and she clenched her fists as the giant lizard moved its way towards them.

"Gross..." Cerella could be heard saying.

"Uh... Wanda... you might want to take a chill pill." HuiLing looked at her, seeing the look in her eyes right now was rather frightening.

"Time to get back down, I think." Tress said this rather fast, sensing danger in the air as well.

It took Cerella, HuiLing, Ingrid and Tress to bring her back down without- hopefully- being spotted by Cedric.

"Why did you stop me from going?" Snapped Wanda, lightning flashing in her hands as she turned on the girls.

"We made a promise, remember?" Asked Ingrid.

"Not to do anything, even if he spots us. And believe me... you would have given us away. We're not even ready to fight yet!" Tress added.

"But he's the guy who took mom and dad!" Wanda pointed in the direction they had seen Cedric.

"We KNOW, Wanda. But we're not even ready to fight yet. This is just our first day of training." Cerella put a hand on her shoulders, but Wanda jerked away, still furious that they had stopped her from attacking blindly.

"And attacking in a blind rage is just what they would want you to do." HuiLing stood in front of her now. "You think we're not worried about our parents too?"

"Right, we're just as worried as you are, Wanda. But that's no reason to fly off the handle." Nodded Cerella.

"At least you still have your dad here." Snapped Wanda.

"You're forgetting one crucial fact, Wanda." Derek stepped in to the argument. "Your parents were once the Guardians of Meridian. They may not have their powers at full strength anymore, but they are used to this kind of stuff happening. This is how they grew up. Dad has told me and Cerel' all sorts of stories about the battles that went on when they were our age. Our parents will hang in there, and most likely give Phobos the worst time in his life for capturing them in order for us to find them." He looked at her, worry clearly in his eyes at her behavior. Perhaps her parents disappearance had affected her more than he initially thought.

"Fine. I'll be a good girl and stay put." She said, sitting on a nearby bench with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes closed as though she were listening for any signs of the battle now going on outside the castle walls. Clearly not happy about having to stay where she was.

"Whew..." HuiLing sighed. "That was close."

"Yeah... Lesson of the day, Derek... Never piss off Wanda." Said Tress, looking at him with honest relief on her face as well.

"So... what do we do now?" Cerella looked at the others.

"Sit here and wait for death?" Shrugged Ingrid.

"Can do!" HuiLing took a seat right next to Wanda.

Cerella and Tress looked at each other, rolling their eyes at how literal HuiLing took Ingrid's statement.

On the balcony that Elyon usually used to address the people of Meridian, she stood with Caleb behind her.

"Cedric! What are you doing here? You are forbidden from stepping foot on these grounds!" She glared down at the giant lizard.

"Your Majesty, I have only come to give the new Guardians a proper welcome." He hissed.

"Likely story." Caleb glared down at Cedric. "Where have you taken the previous Guardians?" He demanded.

"That is for me to know and you never to find out." Cedric advanced.

"You are not to come any closer to this castle, Cedric!" Shouted Elyon, raising her hands. A ball of light formed, growing bigger and bigger until it was larger than a soccer ball, larger than a big serving plate, then shot it right at Cedric, who was forced back into his original form.

"Woah, what's that?" Ingrid spotted the beam of light, and everyone looked up.

"That is the Queen's power." Said Derek. "She's using it to force Cedric back. When you're properly trained, you'll be able to aid in the battles."

"Awesome." Tress was awed by the display of power by the Queen, as the light grew brighter and brighter.

Cedric was forced to flee, Elyon's light being too much for him when he was not at his full strength yet.

"That was a close one." Said Caleb to the Queen, who agreed, watching Cedric disappear.

"Let's go, Caleb." Elyon turned her back to the surroundings, and walked back in to the castle. "That was too easy. I am sure he'll be back."

She returned to the gardens, where she saw the Guardians and Derek were still waiting for them. Wanda and HuiLing stood up when she entered.

"That was amazing, Your Highness!" Said Ingrid at once.

Elyon smiled.

"The way you just blasted that guy, totally cool." Said Cerella.

"Thank you. Please, just call me Elyons. As Guardians, you are my equal." Elyon looked at them all. "Even if your powers could still use some work. I have faith you will achieve your goal."

"Thank you... Elyon." Wanda smiled at the Queen.

"Now, back to work." Caleb looked at the girls.

"Dad!" Cerella groaned in annoyance.

"So much for the excitement of the day." Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"At least now we know for sure it was Lizard Boy who took our parents." HuiLing nodded. "And now we can work to prepare for our fight with him and get them back."

"Right. So... let's get at it then." Wanda looked at the girls, who all agreed.

Elyon, Caleb and Derek oversaw the training for the rest of the day from the sidelines, dodging every now and then a rouge fire ball, or lightning shot. Or quickly getting out of the way as Cerella accidentally got a crowd of tree roots to raise up into the air from beneath their feet. And once or twice getting drenched by Ingrid while she practiced with her control over water...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three- **

**A Satellite Transmitter **

Ingrid stretched and yawned. It was the morning after their day of training was complete, and they were in Tress' room, wearing their Meridian dress robes again.

"I'd say that was pretty successful yesterday." She said, looking at the others.

"But you still have a long way to go." Derek was leaning against the door.

"Come off it, big brother. At least Wanda didn't electrocute you that last time. Her aim is improving." Smiled Cerella.

"Speaking of the little devil, where is she?" Asked Tress.

"I think she went out for a walk. She was getting rather cranky towards the end of the training again." HuiLing replied.

"Hey Derek, why don't you go find her?" Asked Tress.

"Great idea!" Ingrid jumped on the thought.

"Why me?" Asked a suddenly irritated Derek.

"Because she listens to you. You saw what happened earlier in the gardens." Said Cerella in a matter of fact tone of voice that annoyed everyone in that room.

Derek rolled his eyes, but left anyways. He did not want to see Cerella give her 'sad puppy dog eyes' again.

Wanda was standing alone, holding out the Heart of Kandrikor. She did not know what she was doing this for, but all she knew is that it might enable her to communicate with her parents. Closing her eyes, she felt the Heart leave her hands and float in the air.

"Mom... Dad... Can you hear me?" She asked.

Will jolted up in surprise. She had been laying, bored, on the ground.

"What is it?" Asked Terrane.

"Quiet! I think I hear Wanda...!" She said, closing her eyes. "Is that you, Wanda?"

Phobos frowned at Cedric.

"You did not bring me the guardians as promised." He said.

"Forgive me master, the Queen's power caught me off guard." Cedric was now in his human form, and he bowed.

"Nevertheless... I will have the Heart of Kandrikor. I'm going to send the Larvac. She should be able to penetrate my sisters' defenses." Phobos raised a hand, and behind Cedric slithered the giant worm-like Larvac. "She would like revenge on the Guardians as well as I."

"Mom! Where are you guys? We're so worried!" Said Wanda.

"Don't worry about us. Your dad and I are just fine." Replied Will in a confident voice. "How are you able to communicate with us?"

"The Heart of Kandrikor. The Queen and Caleb are helping us train to use our powers so we won't fight blindly." Replied Wanda.

"Caleb?" Came Cornelia's voice suddenly. "Are he and my kids all right too?"

"They're fine. Everyone's fine, Auntie." Smiled Wanda. "We're just preparing to come find you guys and bring you back."

"And using the Heart of Kandrikor as a satellite transmitter is going to help?" Derek's voice surprised everyone.

"Derek!" Wanda whirled around.

"So this is what you're up to. Trying to find your parents." He looked down at her with an odd expression in his eyes. Was it pity?

"Heh... Gotta go, Mom. Tell the others we're okay." She said before cutting the communication.

Derek looked down at her in silence.

"You know, you should have told us this was what you were really up to. We could have helped." He said.

"I know. But the girls are worn out as it is. I didn't want to worry them. Please don't tell them what I was doing." She said, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"No need to imitate my sister." He looked away. He could not stand those red eyes looking at him like that.

"Hee..." Wanda heard a sound from outside suddenly, and turned to see what it was. "Uh... what's that?" She asked.

"A Larvac... a creature in the service of Phobos." Derek glared.

"Disgusting." Came Tress' voice from behind.

"Girls!" Wanda whirled around.

"We were worried when Derek didn't come back." Said Tress with a smile.

The Larvac gave a shriek that caused them all to look at it.

"Well... there's only one way to get rid of big, dumb and ugly." Said Cerella.

"You're still in training!" Derek objected.

"So were our parents." Cerella glared. "Wanda! Transform us now!"

"Right! Guardians Unite!" She called out, holding up the Heart of Kandrikor.

In a flash of light, they had emerged in their Guardian forms again.

"Chore number one for today: Use pesticide against giant caterpillars of doom." Ingrid flew up into the air right along side HuiLing.

"And by pesticide you mean us, right?" HuiLing looked at Ingrid, who nodded.

"Let's give Dad a bit of a lie in, we can handle big dumb and ugly." Cerella grinned down at her older brother, how scowled.

"Time for our first battle as the Guardians of Meridian." Wanda cracked her knuckles by stretching out her arms and holding her hands together.

"You know it's disgusting when you do that, right?" Tress was floating next to her.

"Sorry. Nervous habit." Grinned Wanda.

"HuiLing, we need to get its attention." Ingrid looked at her, and she nodded, zooming over to the Larvac.

HuiLing then raised her hands above her, then put them in front. They could hear the wind moving around it, then saw the clouds like a tornado that picked up the Larvac, forced it off the ground, then dropped it several feet away from the castle.

"Derek, what's going on?" Asked Caleb, running up to his son.

"The Guardians decided to act before you guys got here." Derek glared.

"Not good. They're inexperienced still!" Elyon said in alarm.

"Well, so far they seem to be doing just fine, actually." Admitted Derek.

"How do you know?" Caleb asked.

"Easy." Derek went over to the wall that surrounded the gardens, and climbed up to the top. Caleb soon followed his son, and saw the battle that was currently taking place.

Ingrid sent a wave of water from her hands right at the Larvac, Cerella raised her hands, thus summoning a giant ball of dirt and inserting it into the water, turning it to mud. Tress sent a giant ball of fire right at the mud, hardening it into thick cement around the Larvac.

"Nice work." Wanda smiled.

Next second, the Larvac broke free of the cement prison created by the Guardians.

"Great. Now what do we do?" Asked Tress, her voice full of sarcasm during the first statement.

The Larvac raised itself up, and opened its circular mouth.

"Tress! We need firepower! Maybe if we can't stop it in it's tracks, we can make it wither on the spot!" Wanda suddenly came up with an idea.

"Right." Nodded Tress.

The two flew side by side right up to the Larvac, then Tress put her hands together, palms facing right at the creature, and Wanda directed her own hands right at the pillar of fire that shot at the Larvac. With their combined powers, the lightning fire grew into a large stream right into the creatures mouth. HuiLing raised her hands, forcing it to stay put, while Cerella summoned thick tree roots so that the Larvac could not escape.

"It's working!" Ingrid said. When the creature let out a horrible yell, she sent a wave of water at it, and with HuiLing turning the air cold, the creature was frozen on the spot, held in place by the giant roots summoned by Cerella. The lightning fire from Tress and Wanda caused it to break into pieces that shattered everywhere.

"Our first successful fight!" Said Cerella as they flew back to the castle.

"That was great!" HuiLing zoomed around the gardens in a fit of end-of-battle adrenaline.

"All right speedy Ganzales." Wanda sighed, when they landed.

"Not too bad." Caleb jumped back down from the wall. "Your team-work could use polishing, but your powers definitely have improved since yesterday."

"Time for breakfast I think. I'm starving." Ingrid said as her stomach growled rather loudly.

"Where's HuiLing?" Asked Tress.

"Guardians, change back." Wanda held up the Heart of Kandrikor, and the girls were back in their original forms, wearing the Meridian dress robes.

There came a loud screaming from the air, and HuiLing landed in a lily pad pond.

"Found her!" Cerella pointed at HuiLing, who had a frog sitting on her head as she glared at Wanda. When she spit out water from her mouth, the frog jumped off into the pond.

"Nice landing." Derek commented, fighting hard not to laugh.

"Now if only you could use that kind of teamwork with your training." Said Caleb.

"Where's the fun in that?" Asked Ingrid.

They walked back into the castle for breakfast, and Wanda stopped upon seeing some strange writing on the wall.

"Hey, Your Highness... What's this graffiti?" She asked, and Elyon joined her.

"Leave it to Wanda to spot some weird text on a wall." Ingrid blinked at the text.

"It looks like the same stuff that made your mother pass out when she was your age." Caleb stared.

"What does it mean?" HuiLing looked up at him.

"If I'm remembering correctly it means 'The area is secure, continue your search for the girl.'" He replied.

Wanda was staring at the text as though in a trance.

"What would that message be doing here though? Mom told me about that story, and said that was just during the early stages for Phobos' hunt for his sister." Cerella looked up at her father.

"I have no idea who he could be looking for this time-" Admitted Caleb.

"Wanda...? Are you okay?" Asked HuiLing suddenly, seeing Wanda's eyes closing.

Derek moved quickly and caught her before she hit the floor.

"Nice one, prince charming." Cerella grinned at her brother, who glared back at that comment.

"It seems the text affects those who hold the Heart of Kandrikor." Caleb blinked. "Will was fine when she woke up, though. So no need to worry."

"Let's get her to her room. It's not like her to pass out like this." Tress looked worried, even with Caleb's reassurance.

"At least outside of math class." Agreed Ingrid.

The voices made no sense to her whatsoever.

"How could there be a spy in this castle? The Queen's Guards would have spotted someone entering."

"Maybe they came undercover, you know, while Cedric was attacking or something? We were all distracted."

"Hey! I think she's waking up!"

Silence.

Her eyes opened, and were dazzled by the sudden light from the room.

At first she thought she was back at home, and what she had heard was part of some weird dream caused by a book she was reading.

"Mom..." She asked.

But when her eyes became focussed, she saw Derek, HuiLing, Ingrid, Cerella and Tress staring at her, with Caleb and the Queen in the back.

"You're in Meridian, remember?" Asked HuiLing, a concerned look on her face.

"What happened?" Wanda sat up.

"You saw this weird text on the walls and passed out." Tress replied. "And I'm pretty sure it wasn't from being overwhelmed by math equations."

"Well, at least it's still summer break back at home." Smiled Ingrid as Wanda sat up. "No one there is going to miss us while we're getting our parents back. You could've been unconscious the whole summer and no one would be the wiser."

"Uh... Ingrid... I don't think that's really helping. Your mother's sarcasm can only get you so far." Cerella looked pointedly at Wanda.

"Hey, I tried." Shrugged Ingrid.

"It's all right. Hey, want to go grab a bite to eat before attempting to destroy the Queen's gardens again?" Asked Wanda with a smile. "I'm starved."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" HuiLing said rather quickly, before Derek could protest, which he certainly looked like he wanted to do.

"Derek, you can be Mr. Protective later, right now, we ALL need something to distract us, and for Wanda, that's food." Cerella grinned at her older brother in an evil way.

"I wasn't trying to be protective. I was just... thinking for her well being. She did after all just go through a concussion." He glared at his sister.

"But, she looks like she's fine. So no more protectiveness, buster." Cerella pointed her hand roughly in his chest, causing him to fall off his chair.

"Hey, Cerel, when you're done telling off your brother, let's get some grub, okay?" Asked Ingrid over a particularly loud grumble from her stomach.

"Coming!" Cerella trotted off after her friends after giving a nasty look at her brother briefly before smiling brightly at him.

They could swear they heard him mutter something that sounded suspiciously like:  
>"Girls."<p>

They returned to the gardens after eating.

"Guardians Unite!" Called out Wanda, holding up the Heart of Kandrikor.

At once HuiLing took to the air.

"Obsessed with flying much?" Asked Ingrid as she flew over their heads.

"I just love it so much!" HuiLing spun around in mid-air, sending a tornado of air at them. "Sorry!" She said as they all had to take to the air to avoid it.

"Hey, I have an idea... why don't we ask the adults if they know where Phobos and lizard boy are hiding our parents?" Asked Wanda. "I'm quite personally sick of this training."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one." Nodded Ingrid.

"I mean, who knows what could be happening to them." Tress looked out in the distance.

Down below, Caleb grew suspicious of the girls just hovering above them in a group talking in low whispers with serious expressions on their faces.

"Girls, you're supposed to be training. Not having a chat session." He called out.

"Hey dad, we have some questions for you." Cerella was the first to come back down.

Caleb looked at them all and the seriousness of the expressions on their faces.

"We need to know where our parents are." Ingrid said, her arms crossed.

"You're not ready to face Phobos yet." Caleb said rather flatly.

"Who cares?" Snapped Cerella.

"Our parents are in his hands right now, we don't even know how they're doing!" Tress glared, balls of fire forming in her hands.

"Uh... confession..." Wanda raised a hand, standing partly away from the group.

"What? You don't mean to say you have an idea?" HuiLing blinked at her.

"Actually, I do. This morning when you guys sent Derek to find me, I wasn't just going for a walk. I remembered Dad telling me stories of Mom using her powers as a means of telepathy to keep in touch with our Aunts. So I thought I'd try it with the Heart of Kandrikor. I managed to get in touch with mom and the others." Wanda stepped farther away.

"Did they say where they were?" Asked Caleb, suddenly alarmed.

"No. All they would tell me is that they were all right, and Auntie Cornelia sends her love to you." Cornelia had said no such thing, of course, but Wanda knew it had been on her mind.

She saw the brief look of relief on Derek's face when she said this.

"Fine. You all seem to have a handle on your powers already... I guess a real test would be to send you to confront Phobos." Elyon stepped into the gardens after hearing this. "I'll send a certain pass-ling to track them down first, and then you girls and Derek can go find them on your own. I've already got guards set up to find any spies that may have penetrated my defenses."

"Thank you, Elyon!" Wanda smiled brightly at this statement, flying forward and giving her a tight hug.

"Besides, I want to see Cornelia again and ask her why she hasn't come back to Meridian to visit me all this time." Elyon smiled back.

"You knew my mother?" Asked Cerella in disbelief.

"Of course. Didn't she ever tell you that we grew up together? We were best friends." Elyon smiled at Cerella. "And I must say, you're the spitting image of your mother, Cerella."

Cerella put her hands behind her head and flipped around her hair as if to say it was nothing.

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing." Ingrid stared. "Ego stroking has an odd effect on Cerella."

Tress, HuiLing and Wanda all gave a giggle-snort of a laugh at Cerella's glare that she gave to Ingrid at that statement.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four- **

**Maze in the Dark **

The girls were gathered with Elyon, Caleb and Derek in the throne room.

"First you need to locate the Passling known as Blunk." Elyon was instructing them. "He will be the one we need to find your parents."

"So how do we find a Passling, and what do they look like?" Asked Wanda.

"Caleb will be able to help you." Smiled Elyon.

"Ugh..." Caleb glared at the Queen as though he would rather go back to training the girls than hunt down Blunk. "Well, for starters, we need to go down to the village. He's probably trying to sell or trade Earth goods, or hanging out in the garbage dumpsters somewhere."

"Ew... Did he just say Garbage dumpsters?" Tress shuddered at the thought.

"Well... We'd better get started. The sooner we find our little garbage collector, the sooner we can find our parents." Wanda said.

So the girls followed Caleb and Derek out of the Castle and into the village down below.

"Wow, so this is a real village like from the books Wanda likes to read." Tress looked around as they flew slightly behind Caleb and Derek.

"Hey! The Guardians have returned!" Someone called out as they passed over a rather large crowd of people and creatures.

The group gave a wave before flying on ahead after Caleb again.

"So, Einstein, what exactly are we looking for?" Asked Ingrid, catching up with him.

"We're looking for what smells like rotten eggs left in the garbage compactor too long." Was the best way for Caleb to explain it.

"Oh, so you mean like Cerella's cooking? When she burns everything she touches?" Asked HuiLing, earning another glare from Cerella.

"Something like that." Derek nodded. He knew he was safe from Cerella's wrath, but that was another story for their father. He had seen this Passling before, and hoped never to see him again.

"Great... Garbage dumpster trolling... what fun." Sighed Ingrid.

It wasn't long before Wanda picked up the smell of something foul and disgusting.

"We're getting closer, then." Nodded Caleb when Wanda spoke up.

They reached a particularly large garbage dump behind a building, and heard some rummaging around.

"Gross!" Tress cried out.

"This is worse than Career day back in Heatherfield..." Cerella shuddered as her father walked right up to the garbage and reached in, pulling out what looked like a little green troll in a brown shirt and pants.

"Looks like a mutated frog." Ingrid hid behind Cerella.

"Are you Blunk?" Asked Caleb.

The Passling looked at him.

"Caleb! Blunk know face any where." Blunk smiled.

"We need your help, Phobos has captured the former Guardians and we don't know where they are being held prisoner at." Caleb snapped, holding Blunk by the hem of his shirt.

"Blunk know how to find Guardians... Trade maybe?" He asked rather nervously.

"Here's a trade... you find our parents, and we hold off giving you a much needed bath." Wanda was holding her nose the smell was so horrible. "But if you DON'T find our parents, then you get a nine month bath until you're squeaky clean, AND you have to stay away from garbage for a month."

Blunk suddenly panicked.

"New Guardian knows how to make good trade! I find your parents! Blunk remembers what they look like!" He said, waving his arms frantically.

"Good. Then it's settled. You go find Will and the others, and report back to the Queen as soon as you have their location." Said Caleb, letting Blunk down without any care of where he landed.

Blunk scuttled out of sight rather quickly when he saw Ingrid with her hands full of a ball of water moving water.

"Disgusting creature..." Said Wanda as they flew away.

"I never want to go near another garbage pile again." Tress shuddered.

"Weren't we supposed to bring Blunk to the Castle?" Asked Ingrid.

"It'll be fine. I'll just explain to the Queen that the sooner he got started, the sooner we could launch an attack on Phobos." Caleb said.

"Besides... can you imagine that thing in the castle spreading filth everywhere?" Cerella's shoulders shook at the thought. "Best to limit his entry into the royal castle as much as possible in my opinion."  
>"Oh heaven forbid something should get your dress robes dirty." Ingrid rolled her eyes.<p>

"Hey, I worked hard to make everyone's dress robes, and God forbid whoever gets a speck of dirt on them!" Cerella said furiously.

"What about yesterday when HuiLing landed in that pond with frogs?" Smiled Ingrid.

"That was different. At least pond water washes out with some dry cleaning." Huffed Cerella. "Grass and dirt stains take forever to get out of silk robes."

"Okay, okay, we don't need a lecture on the upkeep of Meridian clothing." Wanda rolled her eyes.

"Anyone else here getting bored out of their gourd?" Asked Irma, stretching.

"It's only been three days and I'm already getting cabin fever." Terrane was pacing around and around in their cell.

They heard a scuttling, and then a horrible smell reached their noses.

"Ew..." Terrane suddenly stopped pacing, covering her nose.

"I've smelled that raunchy stench before." Cornelia's eyes flicked right to the bars of their cell.

"Blunk." Irma and Will said at once.

"Girls!" Blunk said, looking exhausted. "Blunk look for you all day!"

"What's going on? How did you get here?" Asked Matt.

"Blunk follow nose, the nose always knows." Laughed the Passling.

"I wonder if it knows how awful you smell." HayLin was also covering up her nose.

"Now Blunk know where girls are at, Blunk can go back to castle and get Guardians to let girls out!" Blunk said rather quickly.

"But they've only just started their training." Will stood up rather quickly. "They can't come yet!"

"New Guardians already know how to use powers. Fly around and everything!" Said Blunk.

They heard footsteps and Blunk said a quick goodbye before vanishing as Phobos came into view.

"Ugh, this waiting is pure annoyance." Cerella said.

The girls were back into their Meridian dress robes, and in the throne room waiting for Blunk to return.

"Not more annoying than your impatience?" Asked Ingrid.

They were sitting in chairs that Elyon had conjured up for them.

"Your Majesty, the Passling has returned!" A guard came rushing into the room.

"Finally!" Tress sat up. She had been slouching very unlady-like in her chair.

"Former Guardians still in swamp-lands." Blunk said once he got into the throne room.

"Good. So he hasn't moved them. Derek, you will go with the new Guardians to retrieve them. You must move quickly and silently. Once you leave these grounds and the village, things will get much more dangerous for you. More than anything you have faced before." Elyon looked at the girls. "Derek has had experience in the battlefield here on Meridian. Even though it seems peaceful, you will soon find out that once Phobos escaped, everything turned to chaos outside our borders. Please be careful, and do your best to bring your families back."

"We will." Said Wanda with sheer determination in her eyes.

"You should transform only once you've left the village. Until then, I have had my servants prepare for you clothing that will help you... blend in to the society outside the castle." Elyon waved her hand to the door, and a group of servants entered the room, carrying plain cloaks that covered their bodies entirely.

"Cloaks?" Tress looked rather excited.

"Yes." Nodded the Queen.

The girls rushed forward and each picked their cloaks from the servants, and threw them on.

"Wow! This is awesome!" Said HuiLing, swirling around.

"Good luck to you all, and may the guardians of Kandrikor look after you all." Said Elyon.

Walking through the castle, the girls were led by Derek, next was Wanda, then to her left was Cerella, on her right HuiLing, and on Cerella's right was Ingrid while Tress chose to walk on HuiLing's left.

"Why did the queen not want us to transform and THEN go?" Asked Tress.

"It would have been too obvious." Replied Derek.

"That's right." Nodded Ingrid. "Think about it, if we'd left in our Guardian forms, no doubt Phobos and his cronies will be waiting for us as soon as we get past the village."

"And this way, unless the spy is already in the castle, we won't meet any enemies until we get closer to their hideout when they start sensing something is amiss." He went on.

Once they were outside the village, which seemed to take forever, Wanda led the girls to an enclosed area surrounded with bushes with Derek close by watching.

"Guardians Unite!" She called out, holding up the Heart of Kandrikor.

And when the light faded, the girls stood in their Guardian forms.

"Great. Now we get to see some action." Tress could not have been happier as she slung her cloak over her shoulders again.

"It's not just about fun and games, girls." Warned Derek. "This is dangerous. You're risking your lives just by going beyond the boundaries. We all need to be careful from here on out if we want to survive."

"We know that, Derek." Wanda addressed him directly. She already had her cloak on. "Let's get going." She looked at the others, who nodded.

They were moving for what felt like hours over dry, barren wasteland. They reached a cliff and paused.

"Once we get across this, we are closer to our goal." Said Derek, already walking to the edge.

"You know, we can fly across." HuiLing was already in the air.

"And it's dark enough, no one will notice." Ingrid now took flight.

"What about Derek? He can't fly." Wanda pointed out.

"That's your problem." Cerella and Tress were now in the air, all grinning mischievously.

"Hey, I'm not carrying him across! His mouth alone must be five hundred pounds." Snapped Wanda. "Cerella, he's your brother."

"So?" Cerella had her hands on her hips, floating in mid air thanks to her wings, which were hidden by her cloak.

"Aren't siblings supposed to look out for each other?" Glared Wanda.

"Well, look at it this way." Said HuiLing. "Either you help him fly across, or we go on forever and ever blindly, not knowing exactly where Phobos has hidden our parents with Prince Charming here stuck behind at the cliff unable to get across, and we'll never be able to find our parents."

Wanda glared.

"Fine." She snapped. She took to the air before reaching down with her hands. He reached up, and took her hands before being lifted up in the air.

He didn't say anything, but he wondered why Wanda always put up so much of a fight to even be around him. But what surprised him most is, as stubborn as she was about everything, she was amazingly careful not to drop him, and a thought that he chose to keep to himself was that her hands were so soft despite how she acted...

She put him down on the ground immediately after crossing the deserted valley and landed herself well away from him.

"Thanks for the lift..." He muttered.

"Yeah... literally." Smiled Cerella.

He turned to look ahead, and frowned.

"What's that?" Asked Tress, seeing what looked like a wall of blackness that had not been there before.

"It's a big giant wall of impending doom." HuiLing stated.

"That is rather obvious." Smirked Ingrid.

"But how do we get by it?" Asked Wanda.

"Only one way to find out..." Derek walked forward.

"Looks like lizard boy knows we're here." Said Tress as the girls flew low to the ground.

She was right. Cedric stood waiting for them, barring their path.

"Welcome young Guardians of Kandrikor." Smiled Cedric, his voice its usual low, snake-like hiss.

"Cedric!" Wanda nearly flew right at him in a burst of rage. Derek held her back, grabbing her arms from behind. "Let me go!" She added at Derek.

"No. Flying at him blindly like this is just what he wants." He replied, keeping a firm grip on her arms, holding her against him to keep her from attacking. "You need to stay calm if you want to save your parents."

Those words kept her from struggling against him. Only when he was sure she was calm again, did he let her go. The other girls, he noted, had not stepped in to help this time.

He turned to where they were, and saw them smiling.

"Nice job, Derek." Said Cerella.

Cedric's smile vanished.

"I have a friend I would like you to meet." He said, raising a hand.

A woman appeared beside him. She had short black hair, beetle black eyes, and wore Meridian robes.

"Meet Echo. She has a rather unique gift when it comes to darkness and shadow..." Cedric smiled again, as the woman's eyes looked right at them.

Her eyes sent a chill down Wanda's spine. Echo seemed to have no life to her whatsoever. The wall of darkness seemed to expand at once, as soon as Echo looked up at the girls.

"Guys!" Wanda whirled around, seeing the girls getting engulfed by the darkness, like the darkness was alive and eating them... She felt a hand grasp hers, fighting to pull her back. She turned and saw Derek, refusing to let go.

"Hold on!" He shouted.

Everything happened so fast after that. She felt herself plummeting into nothingness, Derek's hand clenching hers... and then she closed her eyes, knowing of nothing else...

"Wanda..."

A voice called out. She opened her eyes. Lying flat on her back, looking up, she could barely see Derek staring down at her with worried eyes.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting up. "Where are the girls?"

"I'm not sure." He admitted, helping her to her feet.

She looked around, and saw nothing but darkness surrounding them.

Cerella sat up, feeling strangely lightheaded. Tress was already up, providing much needed light by a fireball she conjured up.

"Do you know what happened just now? I feel like I just got through listening to Wanda's music..." Cerella rubbed her forehead.

"Not a clue." Tress shook her head. "All I'm able to do is make this fireball for light."

They looked around.

"What's that?" Asked Tress.

She had spotted a small red glow, about the size of a star, off in the distance.

"Looks like the glow of the Heart of Kandrikor right as we're transforming." Blinked Cerella, squinting to see better.

"What do you think? Should we head towards it?" Tress looked at her. Cerella nodded, and they started flying towards the faint red glow of light.

Ingrid and HuiLing were already awake after falling into the darkness.

"What do you think this is?" Asked HuiLing, her voice echoing strangely around them.

"Looks almost like a void..." Ingrid looked around. "I've only ever read about them though."

"A void?" Blinked HuiLing.

"A space of nothingness." Explained Ingrid.

"Hey!" HuiLing said so loudly it made Ingrid jump.

"What?" Snapped Ingrid, annoyed at HuiLing's random hyperactivity.

"Look at that red light! Doesn't it remind you of the Heart of Kandrikor?" HuiLing pointed an unseen finger, but Ingrid still saw what she was talking about.

"Yeah. Maybe it's Wanda trying to signal us?" Blinked Ingrid.

"Let's go and see. I don't wanna be stuck in this void forever." Said HuiLing.

The two took off together towards the light, not knowing Cerella and Tress were doing the same.

Wanda looked around, holding the Heart of Kandrikor by its chain. She had noticed it was glowing brightly as soon as they were looking around. The crystal was levitating itself in midair and shining a bright red light.

"What do you think is happening?" She looked at Derek, who looked stumped at the question.

She got a frustrated look on her face before turning back to the Heart of Kandrikor. She suddenly thought she could see four points of different colored light flying towards them.

But at that moment, something could be heard whizzing towards them from above.

"Get down!" Shouted Derek, lunging at Wanda and knocking her out of the way.

"Derek... what?" She blinked up at him, then heard what sounded like metal slamming onto the ground.

"Looks like someone found us." He looked at the crater where she had just been standing.

It was Echo. She was only able to be seen by the light of the Heart of Kandrikor.

"Just hand over the Heart of Kandrikor and we'll let you go." Echo's voice was deeper than Wanda expected.

"We'll never hand it over." Derek snapped, standing between Wanda and Echo.

A powerful blast of wind knocked Echo off her feet and back into the darkness away from Wanda and Derek.

"HuiLing!" Said Wanda, glad to see her friends were all right.

"We saw the glow and followed it. Didn't think that lizard boy's crone would be here already." Ingrid said in a matter of fact tone.

"We need to find a way out of this place." Wanda went on. "Any ideas?"

"Well, the opposite of darkness is light." Shrugged Ingrid.

"Which means we need fire and lightning." Cerella piped up.

"Dangerous thinking there, Cerel'. Don't strain yourself." Tress smirked, unable to contain herself.

"Ha, ha." Said Cerella sarcastically as she flipped her hair around in an elegant manner at that statement.

"Heaven forbid she think about something not related to clothes and jewelry." Muttered Ingrid.

"Let's focus, girls. Tress, you think you can create enough light so we can find out way out?" Wanda asked.

"Not only can I do that... But how bout I make an order for a pillar of fire?" Said Tress, flying into the air.

The darkness was soon illuminated by an egg-shaped beam of fire that engulfed Tress.

"A pillar of fire is not only appropriate, it's biblical." Said Cerella knowledgeably.

"Time to add some lightning to the fire." Said Wanda, joining Tress in the air.

"We'll hold off Echo while you guys figure out how to get out of here." HuiLing smiled brightly.

"Right." Nodded Tress and Wanda. They flew higher and higher until they were nothing more than specks in the darkness.

"Think your friends can save you?" Echo's voice vibrated around them.

"HuiLing, can you figure out where she is by the sound waves from her voice?" Asked Ingrid.

HuiLing nodded.

"I can try." She said. She put a hand to her right ear and closed her eyes, listening to the voice that vibrated around them. She could almost feel it getting louder and louder the farther she listened, or reached out with her hearing. "Over there!" She pointed suddenly to their right.

"Everyone, prepare for attack." Ingrid raised her hands, water swirling around them.

"Are you sure I'm here?" Asked Echo, her voice now coming from behind.

"She's trying to trick us." HuiLing's head swung at once in Echo's direction.

Cerella looked up at the small specks that were Tress and Wanda, before looking around. She knelt down with her hand on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Asked Derek.

"Think... if we're standing here, able to move around as though we were lost in Wanda's closet, then I might be able to pinpoint exactly where our little friend is, if she's on the ground, and HuiLing can still hear her perfectly fine." Cerella snapped at her older brother. "I might be able to feel her vibrations."

Above the group, Wanda and Tress had flown very high, only illuminated by the pillar of fire and the lightning in Wanda's hands. Though they were very high up, they could hear the girls' conversations loud and clear, and were looking down, waiting to strike.

"Maybe if we defeat Echo, this darkness will disappear." Said Wanda.

Cerella closed her eyes. She could feel the tremors of the planet beneath her hand, and saw visions in her minds eye as though she were watching a video recording of it. She 'looked' where HuiLing directed, while Ingrid fended off the attacks inflicted on by Echo, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Now!" Shouted Derek when Echo was finally within their eyesight.

Roots from the trees and vines rose from the ground on his command, forcing Echo into the air. But Cerella managed to wrap the vines around Echo. At the same time, Wanda and Tress had combined their powers to form what looked like a column of fire with lightning moving around it. The attack hit Echo dead on, and a loud shriek filled their ears.

The darkness faded, and replaced with the scenery that was Meridian. Behind them was the deep ravine they passed over moments before.

Echo vanished among the haze of fire, earth and lightning.

"Not bad." Said Derek blinking at Wanda and Tress as they landed next to the other three girls.

"Where did lizard boy go?" Asked HuiLing, looking wildly around.

"That doesn't matter. We'll see him again soon, I'm sure. Right now we need to get a move on." Derek looked ahead.

"Right." The girls nodded, saw their cloaks where they had left them, and put them back over their shoulders and hoods over their heads before taking flight and following Derek as he started running towards the direction that Phobos was holding their families captive.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: **

**From Uncertainty to Impatience**

Wanda was staring ahead, her eyes narrow. They were getting ever closer to their goal, she could feel it in her very bones.

"Dude, you're freaking us out girl." Said Cerella, flying by her side.

"Huh?" Blinked Wanda.

"You were looking so serious and... determined and we haven't even got there yet." HuiLing was on her other side.

"Sorry. Just got into the moment." Smiled Wanda.

"So what's going to happen once we're all together again?" Asked Tress. "I mean... back home." She added.

"Yeah. The rest of us live in Heatherfield... but you... You live in San Francisco. How are we going to be the Five Guardians of Meridian if we're separated?" Asked Ingrid, realizing this for the first time.

Wanda looked away. She was finally getting used to being around the girls all the time, and they had to bring up that subject.

"Let's not talk about that just yet. We have to focus on the here and now. And the here and now is saving our parents from the clutches of that evil Prince." She smiled.

Cerella blinked.

"You actually sounded wise, there." She said.

"Sorry, I usually leave that for Ingrid." Wanda went on hastily.

"So how far from the place are we?" Asked Ingrid irritably.

"A few hours, but we need to go slowly. Phobos will expect us to be there sooner than later, so we need-" Derek was interrupted by HuiLing.

"To keep him off guard?" She said rather excitedly.

"Exactly." He nodded. "So we stop here for now."

They had reached a small pond.

"And strike at nightfall." He went on.

Deep within Phobos' hidden lair, he was observing the Guardians and their companion in a silent muse.

"Cedric... Send our pet over to greet them. The mud slug should do fine against the new Guardians." He said in his low voice.

"Yes, my master." Cedric bowed and left the room.

Phobos' eyes focussed on the leader, who reminded him starkly of the former leader, Will. Then it hit him, and he smiled.

"This will be interesting..." He said.

"Is it always this quiet here?" Asked Ingrid.

"No. Normally there are birds and beasts making their presence known." Derek replied.

"Something's not right here." Tress looked around.

"Is something moving underground?" Cerella looked down at the earth beneath her, she could almost feel something slithering from far away.

On the other end of the small lake, a hole appeared, and out came the green, black and yellow slug Phobos sent after them.

Cerella let out a high pitched screech of disgust.

"That is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen..." Tress said, voicing what the other girls were thinking.

"What is that?" Asked Wanda, taking to the air to get a better look. She was hardly terrified by slugs. At least it was not an ant or spider.

"A mud slug. Dad told me about these guys." Derek stood up. "They usually travel in packs and follow the scent of their prey. Then mom comes in for the kill." He added. "Virtually nothing can stop them once they've locked on to a target."

"Gross." Ingrid looked rather green in the face.

"The best thing we can do is get moving away from here. We'll have to go around the long way if we're to reach Phobos' hide out." Derek looked up.

And this time without argument, Wanda flew over and reached down to grab his hands.

"Hurry up!" Cerella said in alarm as she saw more holes appearing in the ground and more slugs slithered their way up to the surface.

A blast of fire sent the rising wall of mud slugs down to the ground as the group flew into the air.

"Which direction do we keep going?" Wanda asked Derek.

"We need to go forward from the pond." Derek looked up.

"Tress, HuiLing and I will fly slightly behind to keep the uglies from getting us." Ingrid instructed. "You guys fly on ahead."

Wanda nodded, seeing the slugs forming a solid wall on the earth below.

"Disgusting..." Wanda failed to repress a shudder at the sight of those things.

"Just keep moving." Derek put in urgently.

"Right... sorry." Wanda looked up ahead and began to fly in the direction he gave her.

Ingrid looked back as they flew over the hills and deserted valleys and saw the slugs were hot on their trail. She paused, placing her hands in front of her, palms facing down to the ground. She could feel the water deep within the planet, and pleaded for its help. It literally rose to the occasion, and a great wall of water erupted from a fissure that formed. She raised her right hand, eyes closed in deep concentration, and the water turned into a giant pillar that circled around her. With her left hand, she sent it flying at the slugs.

"Awesome!" HuiLing exclaimed.

"I don't know how much time that bought us, let's keep moving and get to the others." Ingrid wiped sweat off her forehead.

The three flew as quickly as they could- HuiLing a little slower than she would have liked in order to keep the other two with her- and soon caught up with Wanda, Derek and Cerella.

"How did they find us? It's not like they had anything of yours..." Derek thought out loud.

"I'm not sure... but I think something from my parents' room might have gone over with them when they were taken." Wanda thought back to when Cedric kidnapped her mother and father.

"Uh... guys, can we talk later?" HuiLing was glancing behind her shoulders.

"Why?" Cerella asked.

"Because the ugly slugs are already following us again!" She pointed.

"HuiLing, why don't you take Derek? You're a better flyer... We can meet you two there while we distract those things." Ingrid looked at the others.

HuiLing nodded, and Derek reached out with one hand to HuiLing.

"Cerel', can you see how many there are?" Wanda looked over.

Cerella touched a nearby tree and closed her eyes.

"Loads. I can't count them all... and there's a giant one following..."

"That would be mama... She usually comes in for the kill, according to Dad, she's a giant if there ever was one." Derek's eyes were wide.

"Is there any way to really defeat them all?" Asked Wanda.

"Not to his knowledge. They were only able to toss them back in to Meridian when they invaded Earth." Cerella was the one who spoke this time. She remembered stories her mother would share when she was a child.

"Well, this time we'll have to find a way." Wanda looked at the slugs. "And make sure that there's no chance they'll come after us again."

"Hey! Why don't we use Derek as bait?" HuiLing said suddenly.

"What?" He looked up at her incredulously.

"What I think HuiLing is saying is this... We set you on the ground, and at the last second, we swoop in and attack..." Ingrid translated HuiLing's vague suggestion into something understandable. "That way he's still living when we're done."

"Right." Derek still did not like this idea, but he saw that he was going to be overruled by five girls, and did not like to think what they would do or say if he refused. He had seen their wrath far too many times to want to invoke it now.

"Everyone agreed?" Cerella looked around as though she were the deciding factor in what happened to her older brother. They all nodded.

"Then set me down, HuiLing." Derek looked up at her, and she did so. Derek looked ahead of himself, and could see the ground literally crawling with slugs as they seemed to speed up at the temptation of fresh meat.

The girls were directly above him waiting for Ingrid to give the signal.

"Ingrid...?" Wanda looked at Ingrid, who's brow was furrowed in deep concentration as she watched.

"NOW!" Shouted Ingrid.

HuiLing sprang in to action first.

"Time for a tornado!" She cried, spinning around in a circle above the first wave of slugs. She managed to ensnare a fair number of the creatures in her powerful wind before flinging them hard against the nearby rocks.

They fell with a disgusting cracking noise as more replaced them.

Wanda and Ingrid nodded at each other. Both of them knew enough about science and weather to know that water and electricity equaled bigger bang. Ingrid summoned another pillar of water, while Wanda raised her hands into the air. Lightning surrounded her, causing her hair to momentarily stand on end as she focussed her energy into a pillar like Ingrid. This was the most she had ever done with her power, and she liked how it felt.

Derek looked up at her as she formed the lightning from nowhere. Ingrid and Wanda flew close together, then joined hands. Their water and lightning turned into a sphere, which they directed at the center of the wall of slugs slithering over the earth. The resulting explosion created a huge crater.

Tress saw her moment to act. The slugs were now in a crater struggling to get out, even the giant slug towards the end.

"Es-cargo anyone?" Tress asked as she sent a wave of fire around the outside of the crater, burning many of the slugs.

"No thanks... I hate slugs." Wanda looked green at the thought.

Cerella closed her eyes and put out her hands. Derek noted the earth beneath him began to shake, his sister seemed to be straining every muscle in her body.

"Ingrid, HuiLing, do your stuff!" Wanda looked over at the two as the crater became deeper and deeper, bits of earth around it falling as the slugs struggled to get out.

They didn't need telling twice. Ingrid once again put out her hands, and water poured from them to fill the crater with a fresh lake. HuiLing sent freezing air into it just before it reached the earth. Turning the crater into a frozen ice bed of slugs deep below.

"Tress, we're going to have to do this one." Wanda looked over at Tress, who nodded.

Tress formed a ball of fire in her hands, and Wanda joined it with a sphere of lightning. It grew larger and larger until they were five feet from each other.

"Ready?" Tress looked like it took every ounce of concentration to keep the fire in a sphere shape like this.

Wanda nodded, straining just as much as Tress. They lifted the giant ball of energy and fire above them before as one tossing it right into the ice bed. It shattered into shards of ice, the slugs finally defeated.

Derek was knocked off his feet with the force of the explosion, and the sound echoed all around them.

"Not bad girls." He said.

"Ugh..." Wanda wiped her forehead with the back of her sleeve.

"Let's just get moving before Phobos sends anything else at us, all right?" Tress asked, and they nodded, Derek taking the lead once again.

"Looks like Meridian has a new crater in its landscape..." Ingrid smirked at the sight of one of their more memorable victories yet, at least in her opinion.

They returned their focus to reaching Phobos' hide out before anything happened to their families...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: **

**Plot, String and Marionette **

"Your friends did not stop the Guardians." Cedric hissed at Phobos.

"And neither did you." He retorted with a frown.

"They are proving to be just as tiresome as their parents were." Miranda stated, standing in her spider form next to Cedric. "Their strength is in their teamwork... perhaps if we separated them we could take them all one by one."

"Yes... And let's send our new friends after them." Agreed Phobos.

"New... friends...?" Cedric blinked.

"Abrade, Fusagu, Moonshine, Rhea, Adamant..." He reeled off the names, and as each name was spoken, figures appeared beside Cedric and Miranda. "And Scar."

"Why six, My Lord?" Asked Miranda.

"Because that boy of the traitor will be bound to give us trouble." Snapped Phobos.

Abrade was a woman with fluffy blue hair and a matching blue rose as a clip to hold it back. She wore a black shoulder-less top, dark navy blue skirt, black high heels, and a cloak as dark as night.

Fusagu was small in stature, about the height of a ten year old child. His eyes were steely gray, his hair short and spiky all over was just as pale as his eyes. He wore long robes of black and silver.

Moonshine held a round mirror in her hands that reflected everything perfectly no matter which way she moved. Her hair was long and the shade of the moon when it shone its silver light on a clear night. Her robes were long and elegant, flowing down to the floor, and her face was impassive.

Rhea was as different from the others as she could be. Her long black hair was tied back into a knot at the nape of her neck, her eyes were currently black, which meant that she was calm. If they turned silver, that told those who knew her that she was mad and to get out of her way. She wore a black shirt, pants and boots that fit her tightly. On her waist was tied a sword. Over the lower part of her face was a mask that covered her true identity.

Scar lived up to his name just by his appearance. The scar on his face was in the shape of an 'X', and was on his upper right cheek under his eye. There was an obvious blood lust in his eyes, even as he watched the Prince his hands twitched beneath his robes that fell to the floor. His hair was shoulder length and a straight dark blue.

Adamant wore a Japanese robe that was open loosely at the top. The color he chose to wear was red, which made him stand out amongst his peers. He wore glasses, and his long blond hair was kept back in a low pony tail.

Cedric's eyes narrowed in dislike as he surveyed this group. How Phobos came to gain these as his servants was even beyond him.

"You... are to attack the Guardians. Separate them and kill them one by one... but bring their leader to me. They have something of great value I desire." Phobos instructed.

"What is that, My Lord?" Came Moonshine's silky voice.

"The Heart of Kandrikor." Replied Phobos. "That is why I will need you to go after their leader, Moonshine. You can delve deep into the girls' heart and break her apart from within."

She bowed her elegant head.

"The rest of you choose whichever Guardian to attack, including the boy." He looked at the others, they bowed as well. Rhea merely inclined her head in a jerk-like manner. "Now go."

The group vanished in their own fashions. Moonshine seemed to melt away, then her mirror turned in circles before disappearing as well as its owner. Abrade faded into nothingness as though something from below was ripping away at her like she was a sheet of paper. Fusagu looked like he was consumed by the very air around him, Adamant was surrounded by black feathers before vanishing and Rhea simply jumped into the air and was gone in the blink of an eye.

The reappeared above the group of Guardians and their guide, who were moving steadily towards Phobos' hideout.

HuiLing felt something different in the air and looked around, stopping abruptly and causing Wanda to crash right in to her.

"What?" Demanded a very irritated Wanda as the others stopped as well.

"Look!" HuiLing pointed at the group of their would-be attackers that were staring down on them from high up above them.

"Moonshine..." Rhea said sharply, and she nodded.

Her mirror began to glimmer, then it glowed a black light.

Cerella acted quickly and grabbed her brother from the ground as it turned into what looked like black mud. But the mud-like substance shot from the ground at them all. They flew higher, but the black substance shot towards them as though it was a missile locked onto its target. While it knocked most of the girls away, Wanda zoomed and swerved in the air as it whipped towards them.

"It's after Wanda...!" HuiLing exclaimed.

"That girl with the mirror must be controlling it." Ingrid watched the group of people, wondering why the others weren't attacking yet.

HuiLing spun around on the spot, directing her hands at the black mud. It reformed instantly when the wind hit it and cut it apart like a knife.

"Look out below!" Shouted Tress.

But too late. The black mud-like substance had engulfed Ingrid before she had a chance to act, then it did the same for Derek and Cerella. Tress and HuiLing flew in front of Wanda before sending a ball of fire and air at it. The strange black thing just dodged it before taking them. Wanda reached forward with both hands trying to get her friends back. She barely grabbed hold of Tress and HuiLing before they were sucked from her grasp.

Wanda flew as quick as she could to attempt escape from this thing, but she felt it wrap around her ankle like a slimy snake before reaching her torso, wrapping around her arms and pulling her towards it no matter how hard she struggled. It felt as though her very breath were being sucked from her lungs, and the last thing she saw was the girl with the black mirror looking down on her with a faint smile.

"Now you can attack the others." Moonshine said. "The Black Mist has done its work. Just leave the leader to me."

"This'll be fun." Said Fusagu with a smirk on his face.

"Let's just get this done." Sighed Abrade as though she was already bored...

There was nothing but darkness that surrounded her, and she could not even tell if the others were nearby or far away.

"Wanda! Tress! Ingrid! HuiLing!" Cerella called out. "Derek!"

"No one can hear you, child." Came the voice of a man she did not recognize.

She turned around, her long golden blond hair whipping about her as she did so.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "What have you done with the others?"

"The real question is, who are you?" Asked the voice in a taunting manner.

"I'm not here to play games with you I can tell you that much, now show yourself!" Cerella demanded, stomping her foot on what she hoped was earth.

It was. She could see the man with a scar on his face in her minds eye clearly the moment she stepped down. If she kept her feet on the ground, perhaps she had a chance at fighting this man. Whoever he was.

A dagger suddenly whipped through the air and slammed in to her right shoulder sending her flying backward. Searing pain ripped through her body. She put the palm of her left hand on the floor, and several thick roots rose up into the air in front of her, shooting in the direction that she remembered the man being. She could hear sounds of movement as he must have been dodging her attacks.

This gave Cerella time to struggle to her feet. She could feel blood dripping down her arm as she moved.

"I'll ask you again... Who are you?" She said in her fiercest voice.

"You can call me... Scar." The man replied from a distance.

This time she heard the sound of the daggers being sent at her and raised up more roots from the surface to act as a shield.

Ingrid felt as though she had been run over by a truck. Her head was spinning when she came to, and she realized she was laying on something cold and flat.

"So you're finally awake." Fusagu said when he saw the Guardian stirring.

"Where am I?" She asked as she stood up.

Fusagu smiled, and the surroundings were flooded with light to reveal she was standing on a large lake of pure water.

"I thought this would suit our abilities." He said.

"How is this possible?" She looked around aghast at what she saw.

"Never mind that now." Fusagu was still smiling. "It's time to kill you. But I wanted to give you a fair chance at survival seeing as we both have similar abilities."

A burst of water shot from the lake below his feet and he brought his arms up to bring it in Ingrid's direction. She acted as quickly as she could, and brought up a pillar of water to act as a shield seconds before the wave made contact with her.

"Care to tell me your name kid?" She asked.

"Call me Fusagu." He replied simply. "And your name, Guardian?"

"Ingrid." She spread her arms out and the water beneath her surged into the form of a Chinese dragon.

"Impressive." Muttered Fusagu. He imitated her movements and a Chinese water dragon appeared as well.

The dragons raced towards each other, and collided in mid air with such a force that it sent great waves of water in every direction. Ingrid had no choice but to take to the air temporarily before landing several feet away once the water was calm again...

Tress had already lit a ball of fire in her hands and was staring around in all directions. Adamant appeared before her.

"Hello Guardian." He said. "Prepare to die. My firepower is much stronger than yours."

"I wouldn't count on it." Muttered Tress, and the ball of fire grew instantly in her hands.

Adamant spread out his arms to either side of him and became engulfed in swirling flames that cast an eerie glow about him. Tress did not wait to see what was coming, she raised her hands, and several balls of fire appeared around her as well as the giant sphere held above her head.

"You wouldn't attack a girl with glasses, now would you?" She asked as the spheres grew larger and larger.

The fire that surrounded Adamant turned into nine whips that he controlled with movements from his hands.

"I'll take that as a yes..." She grumbled, sending the spheres of fire at him in one swift stroke. A sound like gunshot echoed around him as his whips blocked off each of her attacks.

She jumped into the air, did a back flip to avoid a whip of fire, and a small sphere of fire formed in her hands as she moved, and soon turned into a bow. The whips told her that she would have to use stealth in order to get anywhere near this man, and she formed an arrow with her right hand. She shot round after round of fire arrows at him in strategic spots. He managed to block almost every one of the fire arrows, but there was a window of opportunity Tress saw and while he blocked, she loaded the bow with three fire arrows at once before sending them off in the split second of time that she had.

Adamant fell back upon impact, and the whips of fire subsided as the fire engulfed his left arm and side...

HuiLing could see the movements in the air waves that surrounded her. Turning around and around as the figure circled her like a hawk hunting its prey. When she felt that the person was too close for comfort, she spun around on the spot sending a tornado in all directions forcing her opponent to crash to the ground.

She heard the sound of daggers being sent in her direction, and dodged the blades just in time. She directed the palms of her hands in the directions that the daggers came from while inching ever nearer to the assailant.

At first Rhea wondered how on earth HuiLing could know where she was, then she realized that she must be facing the Guardian who controlled air. It was time for a new tactic. She closed her eyes, and the darkness vanished to reveal their surroundings.

"You are the most dangerous of the Guardians, Guardian of Air." Rhea said, standing up. "Because your element is everywhere you go... however I am the most dangerous of my group..." She opened her eyes, which had turned silver now, "Because of my ability."

She raised her hand, and several needles were revealed. Then she raised her left hand with needles in it as well. HuiLing flew backwards at the sight: She hated needles. Rhea gave an unseen smile beneath her mask before, quick as lightning, she sent the needles right at HuiLing.

Derek was awake and in a kneeling position, looking around in every direction. He dodged an attack from above right of him, rolling over before standing upright again.

Abrade's bored face loomed in on him and he glared at her. She had said nothing, but chose to attack with her black lightning right off the bat. Finally she spoke.

"I can see in your heart, boy... You worry about your leader when you should worry about your own life." She said, raising her hands and sending several pillars of black lightning down on him.

He spotted hanging around her neck a choker with a black stone that seemed to glow whenever she summoned her lightning, if he got near enough maybe he might have a chance at destroying it. He brought his arms over his head as the lightning engulfed him temporarily in sharp, searing pain. When the lightning was gone, he stood up, shaking slightly from the after-effects of the attack, and looked at her.

She stared back rather curiously at what this meant. He appeared not to have heard her.

If he could keep watch on that stone and pay attention to when it glowed and the direction of her hands, he could dodge the attacks and make his way to her.

"There's more than one way to pluck a birds' wings." He said to her, remembering the fact that she had black eagle like wings when she flew.

Wanda lay unconscious on the ground, her hair sprawled all over her shoulders and around her like she had been dumped on the ground like a rag doll. Moonshine floated above her, her mirror still held in her hands. It reflected Wanda's head, then glowed a bright white light.

"Let's see what lies beneath that stubborn persona you put out child... what fears are locked in your heart..." Moonshine closed her eyes and saw in her mind as though she was watching a movie, Wanda's memories, and used her power to warp them.

Wanda stirred slightly, but did not wake up as the memories began to surge inside her.

She was five years old, her parents had taken her to Heatherfield for a reunion with their friends and family.

Her hair at the time was short like her mother's, and she was shy and quiet. Hiding behind her father's legs as the other girls came over to meet their new friend for the first time.

"Why is she hiding?" Asked a little HuiLing, bounding forward.

"She's just shy, that's all." Smiled Will. She knelt down to be eye level with Wanda. "Come on, they're your friends, remember?"

Wanda did not remember the last time she saw the girls, as it had been a few years since their last visit.

Cerella huffed. Already she was looking like a clone of her mother.

"She's so weird." She said bluntly. "Look at her outfit."

The image faded and warped to a new scene, a new memory.

"I don't want to go!" Wanda half-shouted in protest. She was a few years older now, her hair shoulder length.

"It's just a dance party, it'll be fun." Will said. "And the girls will be there too."

"I hate dance parties. Can't you tell them I don't want to come?" She retorted stubbornly. "They all think I'm weird... You heard the blond girl."

Will looked up at Matt.

Later, Wanda walked by the kitchen and over heard them talking.

"I don't know where we went wrong with that girl... She doesn't like anything social and always shuts herself up in her room to read or whatever..." Will was saying.

"I dunno... maybe we spoiled her too much..." Matt sighed.

Moonshine smiled.

"They ignored you when you were around them..." She said to Wanda in her thoughts, her voice echoing.

"You just stood to the side and watched, while they had all the fun not even thinking of you. All people ever wanted to know about were your parents. Your famous parents... Your daddy the rock star, and mom the swimmer." She continued.

Wanda stirred again, her eyes moving as though she was fighting to block out Moonshine's voice.

"Don't you remember asking to join and they wouldn't let you in on their fun? Then they go and say stuff like how weird you are behind your back." Moonshine continued to drill deeper in her memories.

Wanda's hand twitched.

Then another voice burst into her mind.

"Wanda! Don't listen to her!" Will's voice surged fiercely, clearly angry but also clearly determined.

"Mom...?" She said.

"Yes, sweetie. Don't listen to her... Remember your true purpose, your real self. You are not shut off from everyone..." Will said. She had felt her daughter was in turmoil, and managed to reach her in her mind with the help of her friends. "You are the leader of the new Guardians of Meridian. If you do not defeat that woman, then you and your friends will be lost forever... Remember who you are and your true memories will flourish."

"Remember who I am...?"

The images of HuiLing bounding forward and dragging Wanda from behind her father's legs shot into her mind. Later that day they had gone to the gardens and played games together. A few years later, Wanda went to a dance at Heatherfield with her friends and parents and had lots of fun just being with them.

"That's right..." She muttered.

"NO!" Screeched Moonshine.

"Happy memories carry our real strength and potential..." Wanda could feel herself waking up...

Her eyes snapped open and a blast of red light erupted from the Heart of Kandrikor kept in front of her heart, revealing the surroundings at once. She saw the others in fierce fights of their own, and everyone seemed to go into shock at being able to find one another again.

Wanda sat up, then stood on her feet, lightning flickering around her hands as she stared up at Moonshine.

"You try to delve into my mind to my private memories..." She glared up at the woman with the mirror. "And try to warm my friends into people they are not."

Lightning rose from her feet and swirled around her whole body.

"What do you plan to do?" Asked Moonshine, taken aback by the show of pure rage from Wanda. "If you destroy this mirror, then your memories will be lost to you forever!" Her voice was full of panic.

"I'll take that chance." Growled Wanda as she took to the air and brought her right hand into a fist, which cracked and sparked with white lightning.

Black beams of light erupted from the mirror, aiming right at Wanda who dodged each one of them. She reached Moonshine, and slammed her fist into the mirror. It shattered into shards of glass that went everywhere upon contact with the lightning. Her hand then reached Moonshine's stomach, and she quickly became engulfed by white lightning.

"You keep out of my memories." Wanda hissed as Moonshine's screeches of sheer pain brought their friends to the realization that they could be seen by all of the Guardians now.

The other Guardians and Derek all looked over at the source of the screams that filled the air. They stared in shock and wonder at the sight of Moonshine as she was consumed by lightning from Wanda's hands.

When Wanda pulled away, Moonshine collapsed on the ground with a dull thud.

"Moonshine!" Shouted Fusagu. His spell vanished at once as he vanished and reappeared at her side.

Ingrid blinked, soaking wet, at the spot where he was about to make his next move.

"We'd better get out of here." Muttered Abrade.

"We'll be back, Guardians." Said Adamant.

Fusagu picked Moonshine's limp form up and vanished. The others followed his example.

Wanda stayed where she was, floating in mid air, her cloak flapping about her and her hair disheveled. She was panting heavily as though her attack had cost much on her part with both energy.

"That was awesome!" HuiLing appeared at her side, with many cuts on her arms and face.

Wanda smiled at her as the others zoomed over.

"Let's get going." She said once she got her arms to stop shaking. She privately thanked her mother for giving her the courage she needed to fight back as Derek took the lead.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: **

**A Need to Be Strong **

"Here we are." Said Derek at last after what felt like ages of flying- and in his case, running. "I know exactly where they are at in here, so follow my lead."

The girls landed on the ground, tightening their cloaks.

"Wait..." Ingrid suddenly held out a hand. "Something's not right here." She said warningly.

Wanda and Derek looked back at her.

"What are you talking about?" Blinked Tress.

"I've got a bad feeling about this... That's what." Ingrid looked right into her eyes.

Wanda then felt it too. Like a cold chill running through her body, halting all movement. She turned around, looking at the entrance.

"Look out!" HuiLing screeched. She zoomed in front of Wanda, and next thing they knew, she was yelling out in pain as she became surrounded by a black lightning from above.

"HuiLing!" Wanda called out, but Derek grabbed her and pulled her back.

"It's too dangerous!" He warned her.

Wanda and the others stared as HuiLing slowly disappeared. She struggled against Derek, who had his arms wrapped firmly around her to prevent her from getting into harms way.

"HuiLing!" Shouted Wanda again when HuiLing had completely gone. She fought hard not to tremble, and failed. Now instead of defense, Derek was holding her for comfort. He knew the two girls had a special bond, after all, HuiLing had been the first one to become friends with her.

"She's gone..." Tress was blinking furiously.

"That's right." Came a merciless voice.

"Fusagu!" Ingrid recognized it at once, and looked up.

The boy smiled at them all as though greeting old friends.

"You remembered my name." He said this as though it surprised him.

"Where did you take HuiLing?" Demanded Wanda, her shock and grief turning swiftly into rage and determination.

"You'll have to continue through that door to find out." Fusagu waved a careless hand to the entrance into Phobos' hideout.

"I'm not going to play games with you, you little brat. Tell us where HuiLing is!" She glared up at him with such a fierceness that none of the group had ever thought possible from her.

Fusagu was unbothered by this. In fact, his smile became broader than before.

"To tell you the truth, that attack was meant for you." He admitted. "But, we can find our uses for the girl. Now... go through that door, and then you'll be able to find out where the screecher is."

"Junior, if I get my hands on you, you will regret what you did." Wanda snapped.

Fusagu laughed before vanishing.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Asked Tress.

"Let's go." Wanda took the first step into the underground hideout that belonged to Phobos.

What met her eyes beyond the door caught her off guard. It looked like a closet with mirrors right in front of them.

"What in the heck is this...?" She asked, walking up to the mirror. She heard the sounds of a door hissing shut.

"Wanda!" Ingrid shouted.

"Guys!" She ran to the door, but it slammed shut just as she reached it.

She slammed her fist on the door even as it began to fade.

"What kind of place is this...?" She turned around to look at the mirror. She saw her own reflection in it staring white-faced and scared right back at her. "What?" She walked right up to the mirror. It was a full body mirror, and more appeared on either side of it. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR GAMES, MOONSHINE!" She bellowed, remembering somehow that it was the girl called Moonshine who used mirrors in her attacks.

The familiar laugh filled the closet as more full body mirrors mounted on the wall appeared all around.

"Where did you take HuiLing?" She demanded.

"You'll find that out soon enough." Moonshine's voice angered Wanda even more.

There was a loud clunk then a jolt, and she felt as though the closet was moving upward like an elevator.

"Now they're both gone..." Said Tress.

"Great... just what we need." Ingrid looked irritated and angry.

"Calm down, guys." Derek said as he went to pry the door open. "Tress, try burning the door down."

"One fireball coming up!" She said only too eagerly, raising her hands.

"I'm not going to play your games, Moonshine!" Shouted Wanda. She looked in front of herself at the mirror, and her now stubborn reflection. A small speck of blood dripped down her cheek, and she felt it with a sense of curiosity.

More blood appeared all over her face. She looked at the mirror in front of her and saw a sight that horrified her. Her face was covered with blood and wounds that she even felt on her physical body.

She told herself that it was only a reflection and illusion caused by Moonshine, and bent down to her knees, covering her face to avoid the awful sight. It was as though the witch was reaching in to her heart to find her deepest fears.

A thought came in to her mind, as though HuiLing was telling her through memories not to give in to the illusion. She suddenly remembered the first time the two actually became friends.

She was now eight years old, and Wanda was hanging back from the group. They were visiting a flower garden in Heatherfield with their families, and she was not sure how to approach the girls.

"Hey, Wanda, these roses are the same color as your eyes!" HuiLing bounded over, pointing at the nearest red roses.

"Y-you think so?" Stammered Wanda.

HuiLing looked Wanda right in the eyes, then at the flowers and smiled.

"Definitely! Hey guys! C'mere!" She waved at the others. "Don't they bring out her eye color? These flowers?"

Cerella looked between the two, then at the flowers. She blinked several times.

"They do." She said in surprise.

"That's a rare trait to have!" Ingrid pulled one of the roses from the bush. "You need to stop being so shy when you've got such pretty eyes!"

"B-but I..." Wanda stuttered nervously as Ingrid handed her the red rose.

"Hey! I've got an idea... why don't we all gather flowers that match our eyes, or personality?" HuiLing sprang forward.

"I already know which flower I'm going to look for." Cerella flung her hair around in an elegant manner, imitating her mother.

"Yeah, the white ice berg rose." Tress looked slightly irritated as Cerella walked off to a section of white roses to pick the very best from the lot.

"Come on, you can help me find my flower." HuiLing grabbed Wanda by the arm and dragged her to some nearby peonies.

"I-I don't think peonies suit you..." Wanda muttered as HuiLing bent down.

"What do you think suits me then?" HuiLing looked back even as she looked at a particularly lush peony.

"A Dahlia flower or Lily." Wanda pointed over to the distant Dahlia experimental garden and to the Lily's in the pond nearby.

"You have good taste!" HuiLing hurried over to find the Dahlia that suited her best.

The Dahlia's here were huge, as large and round as a big dinner plate, and lush and vibrant as a rainbow or sunset. Wanda walked right into the garden to find the one that she spotted earlier.

"HuiLing... Over here..." She said.

"This one is HUGE!" HuiLing did not bother to keep her voice down. It was taller than they were by five feet and looked like an explosion of color on one flower. The base of the flower was yellow, with orange bleeding through on the tips of the petals like someone used a water color brush on them. "That'll be my flower from now on! Hey, I know we've known each other for a while, but you wanna be friends?" She looked over at Wanda.

Friends... Wanda smiled at the thought.

"Sure!" She nodded.

Wanda stood up.

"That's right..." She said out loud. "We're friends. She was my first friend... and I won't let her down like this." She looked at the gruesome image in the mirrors around her. "I told you before, and I'm going to say it again: STAY OUT OF MY MEMORIES!"

Lightning surrounded and engulfed Wanda. She raised her hands as the sound echoed around her like a thousand chirping warblers. She thrust her hands at the mirror directly in front of her, putting all of her power into this attack.

"And I could care less if I get seven years bad luck for breaking a mirror." She added.

The sound of the lightning was even louder when she focused the lightning into her hands and right at the mirror. A crack appeared where her hands pressed flat against the glass. Then the crack grew, and several more appeared until finally a loud boom shook the small closet and glass shards flew all around her. She looked up and around as the mirrors all broke consecutively when the lightning spread itself around at impact.

When the glass settled on the floor, she looked around at her new surroundings. Everything was a white mist, with clouds swirling about. Squinting, she looked ahead and saw someone lying on the floor.

"HuiLing!" She shouted, and her voice echoed eerily around her. She flew up into the air so as to avoid stepping in the broken glass, then landed next to the fallen figure. "Wake up!" She shook HuiLing's shoulder. She noted that HuiLing was back in her normal, civilian form wearing Meridian dress robes again, with her long black hair hanging loosely all around her as though she had been plopped there like a rag doll.

"Do you like the decoration?" Asked Moonshine, appearing behind Wanda, who turned on the spot to glare back at her.

"We need to get in there." Said Ingrid after hearing the explosion.

"Hello, Guardian who controls earth right behind you." Cerella said in a lofty, irritating tone of voice.

"Well, do your thing then." Tress rolled her eyes. She hated it when Cerella took that tone with them, as though she knew everything in the world and they were dunce's.

Cerella stepped up to the door and raised her hands in front of her before closing her eyes.

The others watched as roots from the ground rose up and forced their way into the cracks of the door. Then Cerella closed her hands, and the door shattered into splinters.

"Nicely done, sis." Derek said.

Cerella took a bow and flipped her hair around.

"Thank you, thank you very much." She smiled.

"Shall we go, then?" Asked Ingrid, stepping forward.

They all walked into the hall, and saw nothing but white mist blocking their path, and clouds swirling all around.

"What the...?" Tress blinked, her eyes having trouble adjusting to the strange light.

Moonshine stood before Wanda, only this time without her round mirror.

"What did you do to HuiLing?" Snarled Wanda, lightning fizzling at her hands in her rage that was hard to keep restrained.

"I just put her to sleep. Just because you destroyed my main power source does not mean that I am completely useless to Lord Phobos." Moonshine smiled down at Wanda. "There's no way to wake her up. So stop badgering the poor girl."

"Wanda!" Tress flew over to her after spotting her, HuiLing and Moonshine in the mist and clouds.

"Girls...! How did you all get here?" Wanda looked around.

"Cerella said Open Sesame and broke the door down." Ingrid sniggered.

Cerella looked overly proud of herself.

"So you've broken through my barrier... no matter..." Moonshine raised her right hand, and her elegant robes fluttered about her as she moved. "You'll die here and now, Guardians!"

"Wanda, you wake up HuiLing, we'll handle this chic." Tress said, getting her hands ready for fire attacks.

"At least until you two are ready to join us." Cerella smiled, patting Wanda on her right shoulder as she passed.

"How do you expect me to wake this rock up?" Wanda looked incredulously at them.

"Hey, you know HuiLing best. I'm sure you'll come up with something." Ingrid waved.

"Derek, be a darling and look after the temperamental angel." Smiled Cerella mischievously.

"Right..." Derek stared incredulously at his younger sister. "Like she needs looking after."

He looked back at her as she knelt down beside HuiLing while the others faced Moonshine.

As Wanda thought about how to wake her up, she remembered that she could use the Heart of Kandrikor to communicate with her parents. Maybe she could use its power in the same way, only with HuiLing and communicating with her subconscious to wake her up. She pulled out the necklace and looked at it.

"Wanda...?" Blinked Derek as she held it over HuiLing's head.

"Please..." She muttered under her breath as the Heart began to glow its red light. "I need your help. Revive her from Moonshine's trap. Bring her back to us." The Heart hovered in between her hands, glowing red, then pink as she put all her concentration to it and the revival of her best friend.

Moonshine saw the glow, and her eyes widened with excitement.

"The Heart of Kandrikor! The thing that master is seeking the most!" She exclaimed, and her hand directed itself at Wanda.

"No you don't!" Ingrid shouted as black lightning shot from the woman's fingers at Wanda.

A wave of water blocked the lightning attack with a loud rumbling from below.

"I say it's time to teach this lady a thing or two about playing with fire." Tress raised her right hand while her left fell to her side. A pillar of fire circled around her body and focussed into her hands before she sent it at Moonshine, who was forced to summon a shield against the attack.

"So you've got a shield against fire, big deal." Cerella pointed a finger at the ground. "What about a shield that protects you from below?"

What looked like a giant tree trunk shot from the ground, and its branches wrapped around Moonshine's entire body, leaving just her head exposed at the top far above them.

At that same time, Wanda had finally manage to reach HuiLing.

"What's going on?" Came HuiLing's voice through the Heart, sounding like an out-of-tune radio. "Who's there?"

"It's just me, Wanda." She explained. "Listen, that witch Moonshine put you under a sleep spell. We have to pool our power together with the Heart of Kandrikor in order to wake you up while the girls have her occupied."

"Right. I hear you." HuiLing fell silent as she concentrated as well as she could under her current circumstances.

"How are things going?" Ingrid asked Derek as Moonshine began to struggle against Cerella's trap.

"I think she finally reached HuiLing." Replied Derek, glancing at the two girls.

"Good... Because I think this gal is going to need stronger bars to imprison her." Tress backed away from the tall tree as it began to shake with the effort Moonshine was putting in to escaping.

It happened in two flashes. Black light erupted from Moonshine and she broke free of the tree, and red light erupted from the Heart of Kandrikor that blasted the mist and clouds away revealing the dark and dank passageway they were to follow after defeating Moonshine.

HuiLing stood once again in her Guardian outfit, her hair back in its usual style, and a slightly sleepy look still lingered on her face until she saw what was happening.

"Hey girls, mind if I handle this one?" She asked. "I owe her for giving me a nap."

"Have at it." Tress grinned.

"Scrawny little magician going to give me a run for my money?" Moonshine's laugh was derisive and cruel.

HuiLing took to the air, and rose up to the high ceiling. She raised both her hands high above her, and a great wind started to roar all around them.

The girls and Derek on the ground had to brace themselves against the force of the strong, hurricane force winds that swept around them all.

"Two can play at this game." Moonshine raised both of her hands. Only instead of wind, black lightning crackled and chirped all around her.

HuiLing spun her arms, then her body around, and the wind rose up and circled around her in a giant tornado before spinning at Moonshine.

Moonshine in turn directed her black lightning at the tornado. The lightning crackled and chirped loudly in protest, but it soon vanished as the tornado inched closer and closer to her.

There was a loud screech as Moonshine was engulfed by the tornado.

Wanda smiled as she fixed her hair.

"Never piss off HuiLing." She said when the tornado vanished and Moonshine's limp form was seen on its back lying on the ground.

"I d-don't get how little brats like you could defeat me." She gasped for breath as she turned over and struggled to get back to her feet.

"You seem to be forgetting that you're looking at the new Guardians of Meridian." Tress retorted.

"We're like a bad thorn in your side. We never go away." Ingrid smirked nastily at Moonshine.

"And if you mess with one, you mess with all." Cerella finished the statements being made.

Moonshine began to fade away.

"Then hear me out, Guardians of Meridian... Prince Phobos will win and my friends will seek vengeance on you for killing me." She said before collapsing onto the ground. Her body vanished entirely, leaving behind no trace she was ever alive in the first place.

**Chapter Eight: **

**From the Inside**

"Come on, let's go!" Derek shouted at the five girls as HuiLing landed on the floor beside Wanda. "Now that Moonshine's gone, Phobos knows we're here."

They did not even have time to register the magnitude of their first real victory.

"We have to hurry." He said, and he led them down a narrow passageway into the darkness beyond the entrance to the hideout.

Everything around them was dark, but Derek knew these halls well, as he had snuck through a few times before bringing the new Guardians in with him. At one point, Wanda stopped. The others turned to look at her.

"HuiLing, you go in the air and fly ahead. Alert us if you see anything." She instructed.

"Roger." HuiLing gave a mock salute and took flight.

"And Cerel', we'll need you to keep in touch with the earth around us. You can use it to sense anyone approaching from any direction, right?" Wanda looked at her, and she smiled as if to say 'of course I can.' "And Ingrid, Tress and I will be the first wave of retaliation if anything happens until HuiLing gets here. This way Derek can just focus on getting us to our parents and not be distracted."

"Sounds good." The others agreed to the plan, and they followed Derek to a narrow cliffside that was up against a flat wall with nothing to hold on to if part of the cliff gave way.

"This is the most dangerous part, girls. Only two of us can be on here at the same time otherwise it will be too weak." He explained. "Plus, there's that chasm." He pointed at the deep ravine. All they saw was shadow, they couldn't even see the bottom.

HuiLing came around the bend at high speed.

"Bad news, there's those guys on the other side." She said, unusually quiet. "I caught a glimpse of them just in time before they spotted me."

"They probably know why we're here." Muttered Tress.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Ingrid said suddenly.

"Ok, you don't have to shout." Cerella put a finger in her ear temporarily.

"Sorry... But here it is..." She apologized quickly.

"That Guardian has probably told them about us by now." Scar said.

"Let them come." Growled Adamant.

"I'm going down below. I want to play with Ingrid again." Smiled Fusagu.

"Be cautious." Instructed Rhea as Fusagu jumped into the air and in to the chasm below.

"Right... there are only five of us now." Abrade stated.

Fusagu did not look back as he faded in to the darkness.

Derek, Wanda, Ingrid and Cerella were running on the thin trail, while HuiLing and Tress were flying directly above them.

A burst of water erupted from the bottom halfway across, and Ingrid raised both of her hands. A second wave of water met the first, and a resounding crash echoed throughout the cave system.

"That was pretty fast, Guardian." Came Fusagu's voice. "You're improving with your power."

He appeared out of the darkness, riding on a pillar that was rising from somewhere down below.

The group paused.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up." Smiled Ingrid as water circled around her.

"But Ingrid...!" Wanda looked up at her.

"Go!" Snapped Ingrid in a firm tone of voice.

"Think you can take me on?" Fusagu asked, amused.

"Kid, I KNOW I can take you on." She flexed her hands as the others moved ahead.

There was a loud crash as the two waves of water slammed in to each other.

Wanda looked back, but Derek called her to reality again.

"Come on." He said, grabbing her arm.

"Right." She nodded, looking ahead.

There was the sound of metal rushing through air, and a tree branch extended from the wall to block the needles. Wanda looked back and saw Cerella with a hand on the wall, a furious look on her face.

"Surprise attack, huh?" She asked Rhea. "That's pretty dirty, considering."

Rhea appeared above them in the air, and Cerella looked up. The branch that extended from the wall then whipped around and slammed in to Rhea, forcing her to the ground.

"I'm not letting you one step closer." Growled Cerella.

Rhea looked up at Cerella.

"Well, boy, looks like I have a new opponent." She said to Derek as she stood up and more needles appeared in her hands.

"You guys go on ahead." Cerella smiled. "I'll take care of this wench."

Cerella touched a nerve at her comment.

"You'll pay for that, little brat." Snarled Rhea, her eyes flashing silver.

"Let's go, before Cerel' gets any more pissed off than she already is." Tress said quickly.

They hurried along the trail, the sound of the water and earth battles fading away.

There came a loud noise ahead of them, like lightning cracking in the distance. Wanda jumped forward when HuiLing told her where it was coming from, built the energy in her hands then shot it in the direction of the attack. The resulting boom echoed around them and shook the underground cavern.

A blast of fire came after the black lightning, and now Tress shot forward, sending her now favored fire arrows at the fireballs that were aimed at them at the same speed as the black lightning from the previous attack.

"Nice." Wanda smiled as Tress dusted off her hands. Fixing her glasses, then she put her hands on her hips. "It's going to take a lot more than little fireballs to get rid of us." She nodded.

"So you've made it this far, even after we sent Moonshine after you." Abrade appeared before them. Adamant stood next to her, as well as Scar.

"Just get out of our way and let us go to our parents." HuiLing demanded angrily.

"Not going to happen." Adamant frowned. He raised his hands, and so did Tress, fireballs appearing in both of their hands.

Derek now unsheathed his sword at the sight of Scar and his weapon of choice, and HuiLing took to the air after seeing Abrade.

Will, Irma, Terrane, Cornelia, HayLin and Matt all felt the shock waves from the battle in the distant cavern.

"Sounds like they're getting close." Terrane said.

"HayLin, can you use any of your powers from before to hear how close they are? Maybe we can help them." Suggested Will.

"I'll try, but it's been a while." She nodded. She closed her eyes and 'reached' outward with her hearing, focusing on the direction of the shock wave.

Wanda, HuiLing, Tress and Derek dodged a black lightning attack as well as they could on the trail.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Cerella shouted from behind. "You nearly got my hair!"

"Oh what a tragedy." Ingrid's sarcasm caused a smirk to split across the other girls' faces.

"All right, now I'm pissed." Cerella growled, using words she rarely spoke. She slammed her hands to the ground, which instantly began to shake like an earthquake was brewing. The cavern shook so violently that dust and rocks fell from the ceiling.

"We've got to make this quick, before Cerella causes this place to cave in." Tress covered her ears as the noise increased.

"Right." HuiLing raised her hands in to the air, and clenched them in to fists. "Everyone, brace yourselves!" She called out to her friends as a tornado appeared around her then began to grow.

"Wait! Tress, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Wanda flew up next to HuiLing, Tress nodded, then flew to her other side.

"Derek, get out of the way!" Ordered Wanda.

He looked up, and his eyes went wide at the sight. Wanda and Tress were pooling their power in to the tornado that HuiLing was summoning. Fire and lightning crackled in random spots, hissed everywhere as the tornado expanded. The three then directed the tornado at their attackers. Derek jumped out of the way at the very last second, to avoid getting sucked in to the tornado.

From below, a pillar of tree roots and branches shot upward at Rhea, slamming her in to the ceiling, causing a large hole to appear in it. Her mask fell off her face with the impact of her head against the hard rock, and blood trickled down because of the angle.

Cerella was surprised at the sight of what she could do when pressed on a matter.

"Fusagu, you're on the wrong side!" Ingrid shouted.

"Says who?" Asked an irritated Fusagu. Sure he was having fun with Ingrid, but the length of their battle was annoying. And he could sense that the others had failed by now.

"Do you even know why you're fighting for Phobos? Do you even know what he's done?" Asked Ingrid as she blocked another wave of water from Fusagu.

Fusagu did not reply. The more he thought, the more he wondered. All he had been told was that the Guardians were evil creatures who stripped Phobos of his powers and status. But now that he had been faced with them, he saw otherwise. He stopped attacking Ingrid and looked at her.

"You say this as though you understand what's going on Ingrid. When you've only been a Guardian for a short while... Why?" He asked.

Ingrid smiled.

"Because Phobos kidnapped my mother without warning, and the mother's of my friends as well. Not to mention, my leader has lost both of her parents to him and wishes nothing more than to see them again. I imagine you too must miss your parents, Fusagu." She said sweetly, reaching out a kind hand. "If you come with us, we can take you back to Meridian and help you find them."

Fusagu stared at Ingrid long and hard. He remembered being told by someone to always look for the truth in things, and his heart was telling him she was right. He had been in the wrong and must make amends now. But thinking about it was easier than doing.

"It's ok, I'll be with you one hundred percent of the way. Think of me as an older sister, ok?" She saw the struggle in his eyes

Finally he reached out his own hand and accepted hers. She pulled him off the wave of water that he was standing on, to the trail that she was. He looked back at the wave and it fell silently down into the depths of the abyss.

"Let's go. I'll clear things up with the others before we continue, ok?" Ingrid smiled.

Fusagu nodded, still holding on to her hand, unsure what to think right now.

The two walked forward to where Cerella had been fighting, and Ingrid waved at her.

"Hey!" Smiled Ingrid.

Cerella was about to say hello back when she saw Fusagu. She was about to put her hand on the wall before Ingrid held up her hand to stop her.

"WAIT! He's on our side now!" Ingrid said quickly as Fusagu hid behind her.

"How can you be sure? After what he and his friends did to HuiLing?" Glared Cerella.

"He was only being fooled by Phobos. He was tricked." Ingrid explained quickly. "Come on, Cerel', give him a chance. He deserves one. Please?"

Cerella looked at the boy now cowering behind Ingrid.

"Fine." She turned around sharply. "Let's go see how the others are doing."

"Looks like they didn't need our help after all." Smiled Terrane.

"They certainly have improved on their skills in such a short time." Matt leaned against the wall as he thought about the incidents that HayLin recalled for them.

Wanda, Tress and HuiLing landed in front of Derek, who stared up at the girls in shock.

"That was awesome!" He said as Wanda helped him to his feet.

"So, everything's hunky-dory here?" Cerella asked when they reached the four.

"In a sense." Nodded Tress. "Hey Ingrid, who's that hiding behind you?" She asked.

"It's Fusagu." She smiled in response. "But it's all right," She went on without pause. "He's on our side now. He was being tricked by Phobos, and believed me when I told him that. He thinks his parents might still be in Meridian, and if we take him back with us, we can reunite them."

Wanda looked at Fusagu, who poked his head out from behind Ingrid.

"I-I'm sorry about everything that happened." He stammered.

Wanda walked up to Ingrid, then knelt down, to be at eye level with him. Everyone stared at her as she stared at him.

Then she did the unexpected and smiled.

"I understand." She said. "It's easy to be fooled by someone in a strange world." She reached out a hand, and he shook it, smiling brightly for the first time that he could remember. "I was nearly brainwashed by Moonshine's tricks and illusions, so I can understand." She stood up and looked at the others.

HuiLing thought that this was good enough for her.

"That's Wanda for you. Able to see the good in everyone!" She said loudly.

"That's your job, HuiLing. I'm just giving this kid a second chance that he deserves." Smiled Wanda.

"Anyways, let's get going. We're so close to seeing our parents again." Tress said.

Ingrid was smiling down at Fusagu when he looked back up at her in surprise.

"I told you it would be all right." She patted his head before following the group down the rest of the trail and to a large hallway that looked like it was carved out of the mountainside. Fusagu looked after them for a few moments before running to catch up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: **

**From the Inside**

"Come on, let's go!" Derek shouted at the five girls as HuiLing landed on the floor beside Wanda. "Now that Moonshine's gone, Phobos knows we're here."

They did not even have time to register the magnitude of their first real victory.

"We have to hurry." He said, and he led them down a narrow passageway into the darkness beyond the entrance to the hideout.

Everything around them was dark, but Derek knew these halls well, as he had snuck through a few times before bringing the new Guardians in with him. At one point, Wanda stopped. The others turned to look at her.

"HuiLing, you go in the air and fly ahead. Alert us if you see anything." She instructed.

"Roger." HuiLing gave a mock salute and took flight.

"And Cerel', we'll need you to keep in touch with the earth around us. You can use it to sense anyone approaching from any direction, right?" Wanda looked at her, and she smiled as if to say 'of course I can.' "And Ingrid, Tress and I will be the first wave of retaliation if anything happens until HuiLing gets here. This way Derek can just focus on getting us to our parents and not be distracted."

"Sounds good." The others agreed to the plan, and they followed Derek to a narrow cliffside that was up against a flat wall with nothing to hold on to if part of the cliff gave way.

"This is the most dangerous part, girls. Only two of us can be on here at the same time otherwise it will be too weak." He explained. "Plus, there's that chasm." He pointed at the deep ravine. All they saw was shadow, they couldn't even see the bottom.

HuiLing came around the bend at high speed.

"Bad news, there's those guys on the other side." She said, unusually quiet. "I caught a glimpse of them just in time before they spotted me."

"They probably know why we're here." Muttered Tress.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Ingrid said suddenly.

"Ok, you don't have to shout." Cerella put a finger in her ear temporarily.

"Sorry... But here it is..." She apologized quickly.

"That Guardian has probably told them about us by now." Scar said.

"Let them come." Growled Adamant.

"I'm going down below. I want to play with Ingrid again." Smiled Fusagu.

"Be cautious." Instructed Rhea as Fusagu jumped into the air and in to the chasm below.

"Right... there are only five of us now." Abrade stated.

Fusagu did not look back as he faded in to the darkness.

Derek, Wanda, Ingrid and Cerella were running on the thin trail, while HuiLing and Tress were flying directly above them.

A burst of water erupted from the bottom halfway across, and Ingrid raised both of her hands. A second wave of water met the first, and a resounding crash echoed throughout the cave system.

"That was pretty fast, Guardian." Came Fusagu's voice. "You're improving with your power."

He appeared out of the darkness, riding on a pillar that was rising from somewhere down below.

The group paused.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up." Smiled Ingrid as water circled around her.

"But Ingrid...!" Wanda looked up at her.

"Go!" Snapped Ingrid in a firm tone of voice.

"Think you can take me on?" Fusagu asked, amused.

"Kid, I KNOW I can take you on." She flexed her hands as the others moved ahead.

There was a loud crash as the two waves of water slammed in to each other.

Wanda looked back, but Derek called her to reality again.

"Come on." He said, grabbing her arm.

"Right." She nodded, looking ahead.

There was the sound of metal rushing through air, and a tree branch extended from the wall to block the needles. Wanda looked back and saw Cerella with a hand on the wall, a furious look on her face.

"Surprise attack, huh?" She asked Rhea. "That's pretty dirty, considering."

Rhea appeared above them in the air, and Cerella looked up. The branch that extended from the wall then whipped around and slammed in to Rhea, forcing her to the ground.

"I'm not letting you one step closer." Growled Cerella.

Rhea looked up at Cerella.

"Well, boy, looks like I have a new opponent." She said to Derek as she stood up and more needles appeared in her hands.

"You guys go on ahead." Cerella smiled. "I'll take care of this wench."

Cerella touched a nerve at her comment.

"You'll pay for that, little brat." Snarled Rhea, her eyes flashing silver.

"Let's go, before Cerel' gets any more pissed off than she already is." Tress said quickly.

They hurried along the trail, the sound of the water and earth battles fading away.

There came a loud noise ahead of them, like lightning cracking in the distance. Wanda jumped forward when HuiLing told her where it was coming from, built the energy in her hands then shot it in the direction of the attack. The resulting boom echoed around them and shook the underground cavern.

A blast of fire came after the black lightning, and now Tress shot forward, sending her now favored fire arrows at the fireballs that were aimed at them at the same speed as the black lightning from the previous attack.

"Nice." Wanda smiled as Tress dusted off her hands. Fixing her glasses, then she put her hands on her hips. "It's going to take a lot more than little fireballs to get rid of us." She nodded.

"So you've made it this far, even after we sent Moonshine after you." Abrade appeared before them. Adamant stood next to her, as well as Scar.

"Just get out of our way and let us go to our parents." HuiLing demanded angrily.

"Not going to happen." Adamant frowned. He raised his hands, and so did Tress, fireballs appearing in both of their hands.

Derek now unsheathed his sword at the sight of Scar and his weapon of choice, and HuiLing took to the air after seeing Abrade.

Will, Irma, Terrane, Cornelia, HayLin and Matt all felt the shock waves from the battle in the distant cavern.

"Sounds like they're getting close." Terrane said.

"HayLin, can you use any of your powers from before to hear how close they are? Maybe we can help them." Suggested Will.

"I'll try, but it's been a while." She nodded. She closed her eyes and 'reached' outward with her hearing, focusing on the direction of the shock wave.

Wanda, HuiLing, Tress and Derek dodged a black lightning attack as well as they could on the trail.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Cerella shouted from behind. "You nearly got my hair!"

"Oh what a tragedy." Ingrid's sarcasm caused a smirk to split across the other girls' faces.

"All right, now I'm pissed." Cerella growled, using words she rarely spoke. She slammed her hands to the ground, which instantly began to shake like an earthquake was brewing. The cavern shook so violently that dust and rocks fell from the ceiling.

"We've got to make this quick, before Cerella causes this place to cave in." Tress covered her ears as the noise increased.

"Right." HuiLing raised her hands in to the air, and clenched them in to fists. "Everyone, brace yourselves!" She called out to her friends as a tornado appeared around her then began to grow.

"Wait! Tress, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Wanda flew up next to HuiLing, Tress nodded, then flew to her other side.

"Derek, get out of the way!" Ordered Wanda.

He looked up, and his eyes went wide at the sight. Wanda and Tress were pooling their power in to the tornado that HuiLing was summoning. Fire and lightning crackled in random spots, hissed everywhere as the tornado expanded. The three then directed the tornado at their attackers. Derek jumped out of the way at the very last second, to avoid getting sucked in to the tornado.

From below, a pillar of tree roots and branches shot upward at Rhea, slamming her in to the ceiling, causing a large hole to appear in it. Her mask fell off her face with the impact of her head against the hard rock, and blood trickled down because of the angle.

Cerella was surprised at the sight of what she could do when pressed on a matter.

"Fusagu, you're on the wrong side!" Ingrid shouted.

"Says who?" Asked an irritated Fusagu. Sure he was having fun with Ingrid, but the length of their battle was annoying. And he could sense that the others had failed by now.

"Do you even know why you're fighting for Phobos? Do you even know what he's done?" Asked Ingrid as she blocked another wave of water from Fusagu.

Fusagu did not reply. The more he thought, the more he wondered. All he had been told was that the Guardians were evil creatures who stripped Phobos of his powers and status. But now that he had been faced with them, he saw otherwise. He stopped attacking Ingrid and looked at her.

"You say this as though you understand what's going on Ingrid. When you've only been a Guardian for a short while... Why?" He asked.

Ingrid smiled.

"Because Phobos kidnapped my mother without warning, and the mother's of my friends as well. Not to mention, my leader has lost both of her parents to him and wishes nothing more than to see them again. I imagine you too must miss your parents, Fusagu." She said sweetly, reaching out a kind hand. "If you come with us, we can take you back to Meridian and help you find them."

Fusagu stared at Ingrid long and hard. He remembered being told by someone to always look for the truth in things, and his heart was telling him she was right. He had been in the wrong and must make amends now. But thinking about it was easier than doing.

"It's ok, I'll be with you one hundred percent of the way. Think of me as an older sister, ok?" She saw the struggle in his eyes

Finally he reached out his own hand and accepted hers. She pulled him off the wave of water that he was standing on, to the trail that she was. He looked back at the wave and it fell silently down into the depths of the abyss.

"Let's go. I'll clear things up with the others before we continue, ok?" Ingrid smiled.

Fusagu nodded, still holding on to her hand, unsure what to think right now.

The two walked forward to where Cerella had been fighting, and Ingrid waved at her.

"Hey!" Smiled Ingrid.

Cerella was about to say hello back when she saw Fusagu. She was about to put her hand on the wall before Ingrid held up her hand to stop her.

"WAIT! He's on our side now!" Ingrid said quickly as Fusagu hid behind her.

"How can you be sure? After what he and his friends did to HuiLing?" Glared Cerella.

"He was only being fooled by Phobos. He was tricked." Ingrid explained quickly. "Come on, Cerel', give him a chance. He deserves one. Please?"

Cerella looked at the boy now cowering behind Ingrid.

"Fine." She turned around sharply. "Let's go see how the others are doing."

"Looks like they didn't need our help after all." Smiled Terrane.

"They certainly have improved on their skills in such a short time." Matt leaned against the wall as he thought about the incidents that HayLin recalled for them.

Wanda, Tress and HuiLing landed in front of Derek, who stared up at the girls in shock.

"That was awesome!" He said as Wanda helped him to his feet.

"So, everything's hunky-dory here?" Cerella asked when they reached the four.

"In a sense." Nodded Tress. "Hey Ingrid, who's that hiding behind you?" She asked.

"It's Fusagu." She smiled in response. "But it's all right," She went on without pause. "He's on our side now. He was being tricked by Phobos, and believed me when I told him that. He thinks his parents might still be in Meridian, and if we take him back with us, we can reunite them."

Wanda looked at Fusagu, who poked his head out from behind Ingrid.

"I-I'm sorry about everything that happened." He stammered.

Wanda walked up to Ingrid, then knelt down, to be at eye level with him. Everyone stared at her as she stared at him.

Then she did the unexpected and smiled.

"I understand." She said. "It's easy to be fooled by someone in a strange world." She reached out a hand, and he shook it, smiling brightly for the first time that he could remember. "I was nearly brainwashed by Moonshine's tricks and illusions, so I can understand." She stood up and looked at the others.

HuiLing thought that this was good enough for her.

"That's Wanda for you. Able to see the good in everyone!" She said loudly.

"That's your job, HuiLing. I'm just giving this kid a second chance that he deserves." Smiled Wanda.

"Anyways, let's get going. We're so close to seeing our parents again." Tress said.

Ingrid was smiling down at Fusagu when he looked back up at her in surprise.

"I told you it would be all right." She patted his head before following the group down the rest of the trail and to a large hallway that looked like it was carved out of the mountainside. Fusagu looked after them for a few moments before running to catch up.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: **

**Veritable Pandemonium **

Derek was in the lead, and the girls and Fusagu were directly behind him. The cavern opened up the deeper underground they moved.

Fusagu suddenly shouted at the group.

"Stop!"

Everyone turned back at him.

"What is it?" Asked Ingrid.

"Phobos laid some traps nearby in case anyone ever got this far. I need to take charge so that we can safely navigate through without triggering them." He replied, his face more serious and dark than Ingrid thought it should be for someone so young.

"All right." Nodded Derek, seeing the seriousness in the boys' eyes. He hoped that Ingrid and Wanda's judgement in him proved to be right. Apparently the other girls thought the same as he did, for they did not look so thrilled or willing for Fusagu to take charge.

"We'll have to go slowly for some time, but if I say to run, you must do so Derek. The girls will have to fly so as to not trigger the traps. Phobos counted on this new generation of Guardians to mess with his plans." Fusagu stepped forward. "If there are too many feet on this ground, then the vibrations will set off a chain reaction." He explained at their doubtful expressions. "Normally he only comes with Cedric, but when he learned that the former Guardian Will Olson had left the Heart of Kandrikor behind on Earth somewhere, he prepared for the day that this would happen."

They all nodded.

"So it's safe to assume we can loose these cloaks?" Asked Cerella.

"Since we're so close..." Wanda began.

"No." Derek shook his head before she could finish. "We'll wait for the very last possible minute. We don't want to reveal ourselves yet, even though Phobos probably already knows we're here after the fiasco back there. But we can't take any chances."

Wanda shot an irritated glare at Derek, who chose not to react. He was too used to her quick mood changes to let it get to him.

"Let's just go, okay?" HuiLing smiled, sensing danger in the air and not wanting to break up a fight between Wanda and Derek when they were so near their goal. She was getting anxious at being able to see her mother again.

After taking flight, the girls followed Fusagu and Derek through the cavernous hall. They could see from above the length at which Phobos prepared for them.

"Here." Said Fusagu when they reached a great oak door at the end of the hall. "This is where your parents are being held."

He pushed the doors open easily, and the girls looked into the room beyond. It was even darker than before, but they could see a single cell off to the side.

"We'll need to block the entrance to give us time to get them out." Stated Ingrid.

Cerella moved to the doors, closed them, then directed her hand at the ground. Thick roots and trees sprung upward and barricaded the door.

"Who's there?" Came Will's voice from the cell.

Derek gave the girls a look that said 'stay back', and he and Fusagu went over to the cell.

"Hey Mom." He said.

"Derek!" Cornelia's face was filled with relief at the sight of her son. "What are you doing here? Are the girls all right? Where's Cerella?"

"Calm down, former Guardian, or you'll reveal that we're here." Warned Fusagu as kindly as he could.

"Hey, weren't you one of Phobos' friends?" HayLin looked down at the boy.

"He was, but now he's on our side. He helped us avoid Phobos' traps." Explained Derek quickly as a roar of rage could be heard in the distance.

"Hurry!" HuiLing zoomed over to the cell. "I think he's coming!"

"Tress, get these bars taken care of!" Wanda tried pulling at them, but they were pure metal.

"Gotcha." Nodded Tress.

She focussed her fire balls in to small points, and set to work. She was glad to be able to do something important once again. She loved working with fire, after all. And working with the bars like this almost made her feel like a welder.

Wanda smiled at her mother and father, but before she could say anything to them, a loud banging on the door tore her attention from them.

"They're here!" Said HuiLing, landing on the ground.

The first bar came clattering down to the ground. All Tress needed was enough space for one person to get through, so that meant three more bars to go.

"How much time do you need?" Asked Derek.

"Five more minutes." Replied Tress.

"And they'll be in here before then..." Cerella looked at the door.

The girls watched as the door was slowly being forced open.

"I wondered how long it would take for them to figure out we got past their cronies." Frowned Ingrid.

"Well, no point in these things anymore." Smirked Wanda.

She then tossed aside her cloak, and the others followed suit before Derek could say anything.

The seconds ticked by, and finally with a loud crash the doors burst open. Cedric stormed in followed by his soldiers.

"Wow, Cerella looks just like you Cornelia!" HayLin said as Cedric took to his giant lizard form right before their very eyes.

Cedric let out a yell that shook the ceiling, and the soldiers lunged forward.

"We don't know how you got through our Masters' hall without triggering the traps, but you go no farther new Guardians." He growled.

"We need to give her more time." Muttered Wanda to the others, referring to Tress. They nodded, and spread out.

Cerella was the first to react to the onslaught. She knelt down and placed her right hand on the ground. Huge bowlders came tearing out from underneath and sent several of the soldiers flying in to the wall, knocking them unconscious.

Ingrid and Fusagu looked at each other before raising their hands. Four pillars of water acted like whips as the soldiers started to get nearer, wiping them away.

"I have a bone to pick with you, child." Cedric hissed at Wanda, moving at her.

HuiLing saw Cedric making his way directly towards Wanda.

"Hey! Big, dumb and ugly! Up here!" HuiLing shouted. She zoomed all around her, trying her best to distract Cedric before he reached Wanda.

"Be careful!" Shouted HayLin.

"Hey Mom, careful's my middle name!" HuiLing called back. In the next second, Cedric's tail came crashing down on her before moving in an instant to wrap around Wanda and hold her upside down in front of his face.

HuiLing rubbed her head.

"Wanda!" Shouted Will.

Cerella, Ingrid and HuiLing all looked up. Derek was fighting off the soldiers that were attempting to attack Tress as she worked feverishly to get to the last bar that she needed.

"You nearly prevented me from reaching my goal earlier, brat." Cedric looked Wanda directly into the eyes.

"For starters, my name's not "Brat". It's Wanda. And secondly, didn't my Mom teach you not to play with lightning?" Snapped Wanda. "You'll get shocked if you do."

Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated. And the next thing everyone saw, was electricity surging out of her and engulfing Cedric. Cedric howled in pain and rage and was forced to let Wanda go.

"Wanda!" Shouted Derek, who was now nearby.

She tumbled to the ground, but did not make contact with it. Opening her eyes, she stared up at Derek in blank shock for several moments that he had managed to catch her.

"Hey, Prince Charming, we have a battle going on!" Called Ingrid from the other side of Cedric.

Derek let Wanda down quickly when he saw her face turn scarlet at Ingrid's comment. Although he personally rather enjoyed the moment, however brief it had been.

There was a loud and final clank of metal on earth, and Wanda glanced back to the cell. Her mother and father were walking out of it, followed by HayLin, Irma, Cornelia, and Terrane.

Cedric let out another fierce yell, then raised his tail. This time Wanda was ready and took to the air to avoid getting struck or caught by it.

"All right! Now I can join in!" Tress cried out. She raised her hands as though she had a bow and arrow in them. Her fire arrow appeared and she cocked it.

Fusagu and Ingrid had their hands at the ready to raise water from below, while Cerella had a hand on the wall with a determined look on her face. HuiLing and Wanda were in the air looking down at Cedric, while Derek was standing with the parents looking up.

"Man, isn't this de' ja vu?" Asked Irma as she looked at the girls.

"Wanda's already learning her power of Quintessence though." Will looked at her with pride.

Cerella looked around the cavern, seeing everyone so tense and ready for action as Cedric glared around. The giant beast swung his tail around at Wanda and HuiLing, who got out of the way as quickly as they could. The tail crashed in to the wall, nearly knocking Cerella off her feet.

She planted her hand back on the wall, and giant roots surged forward and wrapped around the tail of Cedric and pinning it to the wall. Ingrid and Fusagu raised their hands in unison to the air, and a giant single wave of water roared around them, circling and constantly moving with them. They directed it at Cedric, who struggled and broke free of Cerella's trap. Wanda sent a pillar of lightning in to the water just before it reached the giant lizard.

"Nice!" Said HuiLing as Cedric and the soldiers were thrown out of the room by the electrified water.

Tress released her fire arrow at Cedric when he started to recover at the other end of the hall. It flew several feet at full speed before slamming in to his chest and forcing him over the edge in to the abyss. They heard his outraged cry as he and his soldiers fell backwards.

Silence rang for several moments as the girls stared in to the hall, and listened. There was no sound of Cedric or his men.

Then a burst of noise shook the room. It was not rage or the sound of battle. But of joy and relief. The girls went straight to their mothers and embraced them. Derek and Cerella both hugged Cornelia. Wanda was so joyous that she could not speak, but held her mother and father silently. HayLin swung her daughter around once HuiLing reached her, and Ingrid held her mother tightly. Tress and Terrane held each other, and Terrane wiped the tears from her daughters' face.

When the moment was over, the girls and Derek pulled away from their parents and Ingrid spoke up.

"Mom, this is Fusagu. He used to work for Phobos, but now he's on our side." She said.

"Pleased to meet you, Former Guardian." Fusagu bowed to Irma, who looked awkward at being bowed to by a small child.

"He may look tiny, but he packs quite the punch." Smiled Ingrid.

"This is nice and all, but how do we get back to the Castle now that we're together again?" Asked Tress.

"Didn't Caleb tell you guys how to use the Heart of Kandrikor?" Asked Will.

"We didn't really have time to go in to great detail about how to use our powers, Mom." Wanda scratched the back of her head.

Will sighed.

"All we had time for was a bit of training before coming out here." Explained Cerella. "Dad let Derek help out, though. And he was great."

"All right, Wanda, pull out the Heart of Kandrikor please." Smiled Will.

When Wanda did as instructed, Will continued.

"Now, imagine your destination as clearly as you can. The place we need to go back to before Phobos gets here, because no doubt he's on his way now. The Heart of Kandrikor can be used as a Veil Opener. We can travel back to the Castle in Meridian using it." She said.

"But how do I use it like that?" Asked Wanda.

Will did the motion that she remembered like the back of her hand, looking like she was opening a giant zipper in the air with her right hand.

"Just like that, and while your doing it, remember to keep the castle in your mind as strongly as you can." She finished.

"Right." Wanda nodded, swallowed, then closed her eyes to focus on the throne room of the Palace. She could see it clearly in her mind, and felt the Heart of Kandrikor glowing in her hand as she did so. Opening her eyes, she imitated her mother's action perfectly.

"Let's go. Wanda, you are going to have to be last so you can close it." Said Will.

Again, Wanda nodded. She watched as by twos and threes they entered the bright light that appeared when she moved her hand with the crystal.

At the last second, however, Wanda felt something pierce her right shoulder just as Derek, Cerella and HuiLing were about to cross in to the Veil. Her body was starting to feel numb and she stumbled.

"Wanda? What's wrong?" HuiLing was right there before either of them.

"That needle..." Cerella's eyes were wide, and she instantly looked up at the door way in to the room. "YOU!" She shouted at the person in rage as Wanda collapsed.

Rhea was kneeling, blood still flowing down her face and neck from the collision of the ceiling.

"The Master did not want her... to be harmed..." Gasped Rhea. "I will succeed in what the others did not." The hand that threw the needle was trembling as she struggled to her feet.

Cerella raised her hands, clearly outraged at the sight.

"I thought I finished you off!" She glared. She clenched her hands in to fists, and pillars of earth rose one right after another in to the air to the ceiling, blocking Rhea from her target.

"Let's get out of here! The Queen can close the veil!" Derek said, a look of panic on his face as he looked at HuiLing holding Wanda carefully.

Cerella turned and helped HuiLing carry Wanda as Derek vanished in to the veil. The three were the last in to the throne room of the Castle, where everyone was waiting anxiously for them. . . .


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: **

**Unity **

Everyone convulsed on HuiLing, Cerella and Wanda when the three made it through the veil. The Queen raised her hands and the veil closed as Phobos neared it. The last they saw of him was a look of pure rage.

"How did this happen?" Asked Will as the girls reverted back to their civilian forms, wearing their Meridian robes once again.

"We don't know. That one witch just appeared as we were about to go through." Replied Cerella.

"She needs to go to the healers right away." The Queen stated. She summoned a group who carried Wanda away out of the throne room.

"When she's better, we're going back home, right?" Asked Tress.

Will looked over at Elyon, who smiled.

"We'll need to talk to the Queen to know for sure what happens." She said at last.

"But you do know your job's not done yet, even though we're back together, right?" Asked Terrane.

"WHAT?" The four remaining girls shouted at once. Derek put his hands over his ears to avoid the din.

"Just because you saved us, does not mean your job as Guardians is done." Said Irma.

"Our duty wasn't over until many years after we put Phobos behind bars." Nodded Cornelia in a matter of fact way. She was standing next to Caleb since she returned, and had not left his side.

"Hey! You guys know you get to be W.I.T.C.H. too, just like us, right?" HayLin said randomly, as she found the nearest pen on the table, sat down, and started writing on her left hand. She showed the girls the nickname she came up with.

"Is that what you guys were before?" Asked HuiLing, running over to her mother.

"Yep. We were W.I.T.C.H., or at least that's what we called ourselves." Smiled HayLin.

HuiLing took her mother's pen without saying anything and wrote it down on her hand as well.

"Hey, we ARE W.I.T.C.H., guys!" She said, and the others blinked.

"Now, what do we do with the new-comer?" Elyon looked at Fusagu.

"I promised him I'd help him find his parents." Said Ingrid rather quickly.

"I can help with that personally." Elyon knelt down to be eye to eye with Fusagu, who seemed rather embarrassed at being addressed to directly by the Queen. "We'll help you find your parents, okay? I'm sure they'll be either here in Meridian or on Earth."

"Thank you." Smiled Fusagu.

"Until then, you're to stay in the castle. It will be safest for you. Is that all right?" Asked Elyon.

Fusagu nodded, not really sure what to say to this show of kindness. The Guardians and the Queen were nothing as Phobos had made them out to be.

"Don't worry, you're more than welcome here." Elyon placed her hand on the boys' head, and he smiled. "There we go, that's better. You're only a child after all, it's about time you acted like one."

"Besides, you only get to be a kid once in your life." HuiLing piped in.

"I'm going to go help the healers." Cornelia said, rolling up her sleeves and heading out of the throne room.

"In the mean time, you girls need to rest up. We need to talk about something rather important." Irma smiled, looking at Tress, Ingrid, HuiLing and Cerella. All of whom looked exhausted.

They were relieved that Irma suggested rest. They followed Cornelia out of the room without another word, disappearing down the hall way. Though instead of going to their rooms, they went in the direction Cornelia's form headed.

The four hung around the door of the room, while HuiLing used her power with air to listen in to what was happening without intruding.

"The removal of the needle is very delicate work," one of the healers told Cornelia, "It will take all of us, and precise control in order to remove it without disturbing any of her nerves. The user of this needle was an expert."

"Right." What powers Cornelia did still have from her Guardian days enabled her to assist in the work that followed, using thin vines she summoned from the earth to wrap around the needle.

"We'll need you three to hold her down. Even with anesthetics this will be rough for her." Cornelia's orders were direct and precise as she worked on slowly removing the needle.

In the hallway, the girls waited almost impatiently for word on when they would finish.

"I thought you were going to bed?" Derek asked when he saw the four outside the door.

"Yeah? What about you?" Snapped Cerella.

"Do you have no faith in our mother?" Asked Derek.

HuiLing and the others stared blankly at the question. He leaned against the wall opposite the door and crossed his arms.

It was nearly dawn by the time the doors opened, and Cornelia stared around at the expectant faces while she untied her hair. Then she sighed in a clearly annoyed manner.

"I should have known you wouldn't listen to them. But yes, Wanda's all right. She pulled through perfectly." She said, and looks of tired relief came upon their faces. "Wanda still needs rest though. She'll be just like new tomorrow. Now, to bed. ALL of you. Before I tell your parents that you disobeyed a direct order."

"Thank you auntie!" Tress, Ingrid and HuiLing hugged Cornelia, while Cerella smiled brightly again.

"I think I'm going to make Wanda new dress robes since her old ones are all ruined now." She said, then at a look from her mother she added rather hastily, "After I get proper beauty sleep of course."

Sometime later, Wanda woke after the girls and Derek had gone to their individual rooms for proper rest. She found that she could barely move, but could turn her head and speak.

"Where am I?" She asked the nearest woman.

"You're in the recovery room." The woman turned around. "You'll need to stay here until we can be sure you are healthy again."

"Recovery room?" Blinked Wanda. "What happened?"

"You were struck by a poisoned needle as you were about to go through the veil. You were completely unconscious by the time you were brought to us." The healer smiled. "Now, rest. The removal of the needle and the poison put your body in to shock and it needs time to recover."

Apart from the fact that she could not move, Wanda did not feel remotely tired. She needed to see her friends and parents to make sure they were all right.

"Not now, you'll just wear yourself out." The healer put her foot down on that matter rather quickly. "They're all fine, just taking time to rest and recover from what happened. When you've rested more, you'll feel like brand new."

Wanda closed her eyes again reluctantly, and fell asleep surprisingly fast.

In the throne room later that afternoon, everyone was gathered to await her arrival. The healer in charge of caring for her came to the Queen and said that Wanda made a full recovery even if she was stubborn about the matter.

The door opened, and the healer in charge at the castle walked in, followed closely by Wanda.

Will and Matt came forward instantly and embraced their daughter.

"I was so worried about you." Said Will, gently pushing some of Wanda's hair back behind her shoulders.

"I'm fine Mom." She replied, swatting her hand away.

"Glad you're back."

It wasn't her father, but Derek who said that, and she blinked at him for a moment before smiling.

"Thanks." She said.

"Ahem." Ingrid coughed as Will and Matt looked at each other, then at Derek and their daughter.

"Wasn't there something you adults had to tell us?" Asked Tress, fixing her glasses.

"That's right." Will went on as though nothing had happened.

"There's going to be a ceremony, now that Wanda's back to full health." The Queen said, stepping forward.

A look of dread came across Wanda's face.

"Ceremony?" She asked.

"Yes. A Passing of the Guard ceremony, to be exact." Nodded Irma.

"What's that mean?" Blinked HuiLing.

"Tonight, we're going to stand together in front of the whole kingdom and announce the new generation of the Guardians of Kandrikor." Said Will. "And then, I will pass the Heart of Kandrikor to you, and you and the girls will transform."

"There never was a proper ceremony before because Phobos was in charge and forced the Guardians before us to go in to hiding." Smiled Cornelia.

"Plus one of the Guardians was driven mad by power, killed off one, then the whole group was separated." HayLin checked off the details with her fingers.

"The point is, this time things will be done right." Sighed Will.

Wanda slumped her shoulders, as though her worst fears had been confirmed.

"Something wrong?" Asked Matt.

"No, unless you count being forced to stand in front of thousands of people you don't even know perfectly normal." Growled Wanda.

HuiLing could sense danger in the air.

"Wanda, you're going to this ceremony. We can't be W.I.T.C.H. without you! All we'd be is I.T.C.H., and I don't think that would go over too well with the people." She said at once.

Wanda crossed her arms over her chest, and looked away in a very peevish manner.

"I don't see what the problem is." Blinked Derek.

"Wanda just doesn't like being in front of big crowds of people." Smiled Tress.

"Well spotted." Snapped Wanda acidly.

"Wanda, you're going or else." HuiLing's eyes narrowed dangerously. In times like these, she was the only one who could get Wanda to cooperate.

Will and Matt stepped aside, figuring it would be best to let the girls work it out on their own without interruption.

"I'm NOT going." Wanda had her arms crossed firmly as HuiLing stomped over to her.

"Wanda, you've got two choices." She said, lowering her voice so only she could hear and raising her fingers. "One, you can either go quietly and enjoy the ceremony, or two," She lowered the second finger. "I will lock you in a closet with Derek until it's all over and leave the people to guess who's our proper leader."

Wanda stared at HuiLing. Both options were dreadful, but she finally settled on the first.

"Fine, I'll go." She said at last.

"Good girl." HuiLing patted Wanda on the shoulder with a perfectly cheerful expression on her face again. "She's going!" She announced to the group.

"Good, because I managed to finish her new dress robes just in time for the ceremony." Smiled Cerella.

"Mom, Dad... can I ask you something?" Asked Wanda.

"Sure thing, honey." Blinked Will.

"What are we going to do once this is all over?" She said after a long silence.

The four girls looked at the parents without saying a word, even Derek had a worried look on his face as Matt and Will looked at each other.

"We've decided to move back to Heatherfield, to tell you the truth." Matt said at last.

Wanda threw herself in to her parents arms.

"It just wouldn't be right to take you away from your friends after all that happened to bring you together like this." Smiled Will after nearly being bowled over by her daughter. It was such a burst of energy that she did not expect to come from her. "You'll be able to be proper Guardians of Kandrikor once the move is complete." She patted her daughter on the head.

"Thank you, Mom... Dad." Smiled Wanda.

"This means we can throw a home coming party!" Cried out Ingrid.

"We can do it at our place, right?" Cerella looked at her parents.

Cornelia and Caleb exchanged faces.

"Fine. Just this once." Sighed Caleb after seeing Cornelia's raised eyebrows.

HuiLing practically shouted for joy at the thought of a party soon.

"And don't worry, it won't be neon pink this time, Wanda." Cerella smiled.

"Good. Because then I'd have to throw you in water and electrocute you for that." Wanda gave a nasty smile that made Cerella give a nervous laugh and rapidly change the subject.

"So girls, let's go get ready for the ceremony, shall we?" She asked.

The girls then left to prepare themselves. HuiLing supervised Wanda to make sure she got in to her new dress robes without argument, then frog marched her down the hallways with the other girls.

"You guys ready?" Asked Will with a smile.

HuiLing had a firm grip on Wanda's right arm and only let go once they were behind the crimson curtains that barred them from the view of the public down below. They could all hear the noise of the cheers as they welcomed their beloved Queen, then silence fell as she made the announcement.

"People of Meridian, a new age has arrive where we must witness the change of the Guard. The Guardians of Kandrikor that you once knew have passed their powers to the next generation, who will now reveal themselves to you. I present them to you!" She called out, and the curtains were raised.

The silence was broken by the cheers of the crowd that pounded on their ears.

"The former Guardian, Will Olson passes the Heart of Kandrikor to her daughter, who will be the new leader of the new team." Elyon looked on with pride.

Will held out the Heart of Kandrikor as Wanda, Ingrid, Tress, Cerella and HuiLing stood in front of her, Irma, Terrane, Cornelia, and HayLin. Fusagu, Derek and Caleb were in the back for support.

When Wanda reached out for the Heart of Kandrikor, she felt its warmth, as though the acceptance of all the people of Meridian were within this crystal at that very moment. She held the necklace up, and the crystal began to glow a bright red color. Wind started to blow, causing their dress robes to ruffle slightly in the breeze.

"Guardians Unite!" She called out.

The flash of light dazzled all who were not used to it yet, and when the girls reemerged as the new Guardians, the joyous and triumphant cheers of the crowd nearly deafened them. They looked down at the people, wondering how long their own duties as Guardians of Kandrikor would last.

When they glanced back at their families, they saw that the adults were beaming with pride and excitement.

"A new age has come, and with the new age, new Guardians." Elyon spoke to the crowd as it quieted down at last. "They will protect this land and Earth, as their predecessors did before them. And we shall do everything we can in our power to help them if they need it."

The crowd roared its approval.

"Soon they will return to Earth, but they will come when we need their aid. So fear not, people of Meridian. The Guardians are here to protect you as they did in the past!" Elyon's voice boomed over the people, and could be heard throughout the village down below in the castle grounds for those who could not attend.

The ceremonies continued long in to the night, long after the girls had gone to their rooms and to sleep. Or so their parents thought.

"So, what do you think?" Tress asked, glad to be back in her dress robes. She wasn't quite used to the Guardian outfits yet.

"I think it's going to be interesting." Said Wanda. "I'll take this over the boring life of being the daughter of a rock star on Earth any day."

"There will never be a dull moment after today." Smiled HuiLing.

"HuiLing, with you around, there's never a dull moment." Grinned Ingrid.

The girls could not resist the laughter. It felt like it had been ages since they laughed together like this, and they didn't stop for several minutes, and finally decided to get to bed so they could be rested for the journey home the next day.

Finally their families would be together again, and when Wanda and her parents moved to Heatherfield, they would be as one again, and just as powerful as before. Perhaps even stronger with their hearts united as one.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: **

**Homecoming **

It had been a month since the girls returned to Earth, and Wanda and her parents moved back to Heatherfield. As she unpacked a box full of her favorite books, she looked around her room. They were staying with her grandparents, in the very house that her mother spent her middle and high school years living in. There was a clap of thunder, then the sound of rain hammering down on the roof of the house.

She looked out her window and sighed. It was supposed to do this, so she was not surprised. However, she'd hoped it would not continue to her first day at Sheffield Institute tomorrow.

Wanda already had her bed in the room, a desk by the window, a nightstand by her bed with a curved lamp, and the Heart of Kandrikor hung from the hoop of the lamp so she knew it would not get lost amongst all the boxes and books she had spread out everywhere.

A knocking on the door, and Will entered the room. Or at least, she tried to.

"Wanda, once you clean up, Grandma says things are ready for dinner down stairs." She said.

"Thanks Mom." Smiled Wanda.

"How do you like your room?" Asked Will.

"It's great. The perfect size for me." Replied Wanda as she stood up and put a large, towering stack of books in the bookshelf next to her desk.

Instead of being green and full of frogs like when her mother inhabited this room, Wanda had hung purple fabric on the walls over the green paint, and on the large television she placed several glittering geckos. Even on top of her book case and desk, glittering geckos covered the spots that weren't taken over by her books or computer laptop. Over the purple fabric wall was posters of white tigers, phoenixes and dragons. She taped pictures of her favorite singers on her closet door.

Shaking her head at the mountain of work still left for her daughter to do, Will left the door open before she went back downstairs. Wanda was more of a pack rat than her mother was, and just could not get rid of many of her things from San Francisco.

When she lifted up a particularly large stack of books, they fell straight to the floor and her left hand flew up to her right shoulder.

"What the...? I thought they healed it!" She growled.

"Wanda? Something wrong?" Matt came in when he heard the books clattering to the floor.

"I'm fine Dad. Just lifted to many heavy books." She managed a smile up to her father. "Tell Mom and Grandma I'll be down in a bit, okay?"

Matt looked down at her, knowing she was lying. But he also knew his daughter was just as stubborn as her mother and it was pointless to badger her about it.

"Just come down whenever you're ready." Matt gave Wanda one last worried look before heading back downstairs. "Will, can I talk to you for a moment out here?" He said to Will in the kitchen.

"Sure." Blinked Will in surprise, setting down the knife she had in her hands before walking in to the living room. "What is it?"

"I'm worried about Wanda. She hasn't been the same since that encounter with the woman Rhea back on Meridian." Matt told her in a lowered voice so Susan would not hear.

"What do you mean? She's been fine." Will looked up at him, non-concerned.

"It's that shoulder of hers, the one that was pierced. I'm not sure that the healers got all the poison out of it." Said Matt after a long pause.

"Look, Cornelia said she got all of the poison out... and even if there was some that she missed, I'm sure Wanda will go straight to her if that's the case." Smiled Will.

Her first school day at Heatherfield Institute came much too quickly for Wanda. That day she decided to wear blue jean overalls, and a purple and white stripped long sleeved shirt. Will dropped her off first thing in the morning.

"Hope you don't mind me not being a butterball of emotion like your grandmother." Smiled Will.

"Thanks Mom." Wanda smiled back, grabbing her bag pack from the back seat. From one of the zippers was clipped a key chain of glittering geckos.

"Your lunch is in your bag. Dad's going to pick you up tonight for the party, ok?"

"Thanks Mom." Wanda said again with a note of impatience in her voice.

Will smiled and waved goodbye as Wanda closed the back seat of the car, and watched her mother drive off. Wanda then turned to face the Institute and felt a sense of foreboding.

In the hallway within the school, Cerella, Ingrid, HuiLing and Tress were gathered around a locker.

"Ok, so we've got everything we need for tonight, right?" Asked Cerella. She wore a spring green tank top over a white u-neck long sleeved shirt, a spring green skirt, and white shoes.

"Yep. I've got the decoration," Smirked Tress. She wore a red striped shirt that cut off right at the shoulders, red jeans, and shoes.

"I've got the food!" HuiLing raised her right hand. She wore a maroon long sleeved shirt with bell sleeves and a v-neck, a black vest, a black skirt, and matching maroon shoes.

"And I've come up with a way to ensure she won't skip out on this one." Ingrid held her index finger up. She wore a blue checkered shirt with a u-neck, blue jeans, and shoes.

"Great! And we all agreed that purple and gecko's are the theme? Good... Oh! Here she comes!" Cerella looked up to see Wanda walking through the hallway holding a piece of paper from the office detailing where her locker was, the combination, and where her classes would be.

"Hey, Wanda!" HuiLing ran over and, catching Wanda completely by surprise, flung her arms around Wanda in a big hug.

"HuiLing...? What are you doing here?" Blinked Wanda in surprise.

"We go to school here too, silly." Smiled Cerella, as Tress pried HuiLing away from Wanda.

"Oh, right." Wanda found her locker, unlocked it, and unzipped her bag.

"Hey girls." Derek had just arrived at the school. He was surrounded by a gang of boys who idolized him.

"Derek, who's the new kid?" Asked one of the boys. "Haven't we seen her before?"

"She's Wanda, Matt Olson's daughter." HuiLing said before anyone could stop her.

"The rock star? No way!" The boys looked at Wanda in surprise.

"Anyways, guys, I'll meet you in class. I need to talk to my sister for a bit." Derek waved at the boys, who took the hint and left. He turned to the girls. "We'll need to be on high alert. Queen Elyon's investigative team still have not found Phobos or any of his allies."

"So you're saying they could be hiding anywhere?" Blinked Ingrid.

Derek nodded.

"Just be careful. Even Fusagu does not know where Phobos may have hidden himself at this point." He replied.

"Great. So now it's a game of cat and mouse." Sighed Tress.

"Well, it was before but the stakes are much higher this time around." Ingrid pointed out.

"Hello there." Came a voice from behind.

They looked up, and in Wanda's case, she turned around.

"Grandpa!" She shoved Derek aside and flung her arms around the man who had walked up to the group. Dean Collins smiled down at his granddaughter.

"Glad to see you found your friends already, Wanda. You'll be in my class this year. Although you need to be more careful with your friends." Dean pointed at Derek, who had been tossed to the wall like a rag doll and blinking in surprise.

"Sorry." Wanda put a hand behind her head in an embarrassed way.

"That's fine. I'm used to being pushed around by girls all the time." Muttered Derek, dusting himself off.

"What was that?" Cerella glared at him.

"Nothing! Well, I'd better go. Don't want to be late for class." Derek waved a fast goodbye before rushing off, in order to avoid digging himself a deeper hole.

"Well, let's get going girls." Dean said, and Wanda grabbed her books and writing utensils, closed her locker, and followed the group.

When class started at eight in the morning, Wanda chose her seat in front of HuiLing and Dean made the announcement.

"We have a new student here, today, class. I'd like to introduce my granddaughter, Wanda Olson, who has moved here from San Francisco." He smiled, pointing out Wanda, who seemed to shrink as all eyes turned to her.

"Come on! Don't be shy!" HuiLing grabbed Wanda by the collar of her shirt and pulled her back up with surprising strength.

There were many whisperings about her last name by her fellow classmates. She could hear Cerella and Tress sniggering in the background as well while she rubbed the front of her neck.

During break, Wanda was bombarded by a gaggle of people asking her about her relations and what San Francisco was really like.

"Is your Dad really Matt Olson?" A blond girl calling herself Rachel asked.

"Yes." Blinked Wanda.

"Can we get his autograph?" Another girl named Jessica pleaded.

"Ask him yourself if you want his autograph." Retorted Wanda rather bluntly.

"We're too nervous." Admitted Rachel.

"He's a good guy, he won't be mean about it." Assured Wanda.

Rachel and Jessica looked at each other hopefully.

"Come on, we're going to be late for our next class." Tress managed to pull Wanda away from the group.

"Thanks." Wanda breathed a sigh of relief as she joined her friends.

"Hello ladies." An older, gray-haired woman came up to them.

"Hi Principal Knickerbocker!" HuiLing said brightly.

"I see you're already making friends, Wanda. That's great! I hope you do as well here as your parents did." Smiled the Principal.

Wanda gave a sheepish smile, shook the Principal's hand, and when the Principal left, gave a sigh of relief.

"This is what I hate about whenever my family moves." She told the others. "Everyone expects to get my Dad's autograph through me, and they expect more than I can give."

"Don't worry, once the hubbub dies down, you'll fit in just fine." Smiled Ingrid.

"I hope you're right... I hate all these people asking for my Dad." Wanda scratched the back of her head. "I don't get what the big deal is. He's just an ordinary guy."

"An ordinary guy who's the lead guitarist in a famous rock band, and you're his daughter." Tress pointed out.

"Your Dad is a big star here, since this is where he went to school and started out his career." Cerella added.

"Enough about my Dad please." Snapped Wanda, slamming her locker shut. When she did so, a small current of lightning could be seen by the other girls as she removed her hand from her locker.

At lunch time, the five girls decided to eat outside in the sun. Wanda pulled out her lunch bag to find a huge salad with all of her favorite vegetables and cheeses.

"Guess this is the surprise lunch." She smirked, pulling out the diet pepsi from her bag pack.

HuiLing was sitting next to her, eating an array of Chinese foods made for her by her mother, HayLin. Cerella was directly across Wanda, eating a sandwich, Tress was having stir fried rice with lots of bell peppers and water chestnuts, while Ingrid was having a sandwich with hot peppers and meat.

"How can you stand Pepsi?" Asked Cerella. She herself was drinking Coca Cola.

"How can you stand Coca Cola?" Snapped Wanda.

"Now now, at least wait until there's something worth fighting about." HuiLing said nervously over her knife and fork.

Deep within Meridian's swamp land, Phobos had erected a new fortress for himself without alerting his sister or her guards and investigative team. The castle blended in to the swamp itself, and to the untrained eye, looked like part of a mountain.

Cedric bowed before Phobos.

"Forgive me my lord, we were unable to retrieve the new Guardian leader... And we lost several of our best fighters." He said.

"Yes, but Rhea did manage to critically wound her." Smiled Phobos. "And with that poison still inside her even if my sister's healers helped restore her health, it will be easier to capture her."

"But if she's anything like her mother, she will find a way to escape from your grasp." Warned Cedric.

"That is where our blessings start, Cedric. We can learn from our mistakes in the past and find new ways of capturing the Heart of Kandrikor." Replied Phobos. "To capture the Heart, we capture the person holding it as well. We've also learned that the Guardians are much quicker this time at using their powers, though they thankfully have yet to use them to their full potential. We'll send an old friend of ours to Earth and test their ability."

"An old friend?" Blinked Cedric.

"Frost..." Phobos raised a hand in greeting as Frost entered the room, bowing to Phobos.

Cedric frowned at Frost, but turned back to Phobos without saying anything.

"See you at the party!" Cerella waved at Wanda after school as Wanda stepped in to her father's car into the passenger's seat next to her father, while tossing her bag into the back seat.

"How was your day?" Asked Matt as she buckled herself in.

"Chaos." She replied simply.

"Same as always, then, huh?" Sighed Matt as they drove away from the school. She never said much about her school life or social life before, so he did not see why things would change right away. He hoped, however, that now she was with her close friends, Wanda would soon begin to open up.

"We need to stop off at the house so you can get out of your school clothes. Your mother will kill me if I let you go to a party dressed in coveralls..." Matt pulled up to the house and spoke up when she looked at him with an inquisitorial look on her face.

Just as they reached the house, he slammed on the breaks.

"Dad? What is it?" Wanda demanded, rubbing the part of her forehead that slammed on to the dashboard.

"Wanda, transform, quickly!" Matt told her as they stepped out of the vehicle.

"Why?" She blinked at him as his eyes began to glow bright neon green.

"Because an old friend is here." Frost said from behind them.

Wanda whirled around as Matt, now in his transformed state with black wings and golden armor and mask, stood in front of her.

"Hurry." He told her.

She pulled out the Heart of Kandrikor, but there was not enough time.

Frost's ride came from the opposite end that they were just staring at, and knocked her over, sending the crystal flying under the car.

"Crap!" She muttered, trying to stand up as the beast reared its head and started to charge. She dodged it and made it to the car, then started to dig as Matt flew over, ignoring Frost, and fought off the beast as long as he could.

"Hurry up!" Matt shouted.

At Cerella's house, the four girls were sitting at a table completely bored.

"This sucks." Muttered Tress.

"We go through the trouble of planning a party, and the main guest never shows." Cerella growled.

"Perhaps it's not here fault that she is not here yet." YanLin said, walking up with a platter of some of her best cooking. She smacked HuiLing's hands when she went to grab a dumpling.

"Ouch!" HuiLing rubbed her hand. Her Great Grandmother still had some bite in her.

"Maybe you guys should go and check on how things are doing at the Olson house?" Smiled Terrane.

"Ugh, fine." Cerella stood up. "Should be more entertaining than THIS." She waved her hand rather unenthusiastically around at the decorations.

"Hey, where's Derek?" Asked HuiLing.

"He should be along here shortly. He mentioned something about getting a gift from Meridian." Smiled Cornelia. "I'll send him your way when he gets back."

Cerella looked at her mother with a suspicious expression on her face before Ingrid grabbed her arm and dragged her out with them.

"C'mon!" She snapped.

They paused at the door when they nearly ran in to Fusagu, who was in Earth clothing and looked more like a ten year old than a powerful sorcerer.

"Is something going on?" Blinked Fusagu.

"We're just going to check on Wanda really quick to make sure she did not bail on us." Smiled Ingrid.

"I see. So I'm not too late. I was worried... Mind if I join you guys?" He asked.

"Sure!" Smiled HuiLing before Cerella could say anything.

"Let's just go!" Sighed Cerella, now taking the lead.

There was a flash of red light by the car, then Matt and Frost turned around to see Wanda standing in her Guardian form.

"Why is it bad guys never learn?" Asked Wanda as Frost's beast prepared to run at her again.

"Maybe it's their thick skulls." Replied her father as he sent more laser beams that kept Frost at bay.

Wanda directed the palms of her hands at the beast as it approached, then at the very last second sent a pillar of lightning at it, and the result was it flying backwards. It landed on the ground with a dull thud.

Frost unsheathed his sword at this point and let out a yell.

"Time to take to the air." Matt looked at his daughter as Frost mounted his beast once it recovered.

They took to the air just as Frost rammed the horn of the beasts' nose in to his car.

"Man, that's going to cost a fortune to repair." Matt sighed as the beast retracted the horn and looked up at the two of them.

"And he better not have messed up that essay for Grandfather's project." Glared Wanda.

"Like father like daughter." Said Frost.

"Wanda!" Shouted HuiLing.

"Woah! Who would've thought your dad was a buff warrior from Meridian, eh?" Cerella looked impressed.

"Cerella!" Ingrid and Tress looked aghast at her.

Wanda flew over to the girls and held out the Heart of Kandrikor.

"Guardians Unite!" She shouted before any of them could say a thing.

"We've got a bit of a crisis on our hands, sorry. No time for chit chat." Wanda looked at Frost, who turned his beast around to face them.

"Ugh, talk about ugly." Cerella made a disgusted face.

"We'll be safest in the air!" HuiLing stated, noting that Wanda and her father had been in the air when the rhinoceros-like creature rammed itself in to his car.

The five girls flew up to the air to join Matt.

"So what do we do now Dad? We can't stay up here forever." Said Wanda.

"And he's not going to pace forever." Blinked Tress through her glasses.

"Here we thought you'd bailed on us." Smirked Ingrid at Wanda.

"I was going to but Dad wouldn't let me." Sighed Wanda.

That earned her glares from the other girls.

"Joking! Joking!" Blinked Wanda suddenly, seeing the look of outright mutiny on their faces.

"So, Fusagu," Said Frost. "You have joined the enemy?"

Fusagu, who could not fly without the power of his water spells, remained on the ground. He looked at Frost, and the girls all looked at him. Matt hung slightly behind them.

"No Frost, I have not. I have joined the side that is right." Replied Fusagu at last.

He raised his right hand and directed it at Frost. A pillar of water shot out from the ground behind them, and rose like a whip at Frost and his beast that he rode on. The whip encircled them until it formed a sphere around the enemy.

Ingrid's eyes went wide at the power that Fusagu still had even though he left Phobos. With a flick of the boys' hands, he sent the sphere crashing in to the house. Cerella took action then, raising her hands to the air. A group of tree roots rose up and trapped a now soaking wet Frost and his beast against the wall of the house.

The girls felt it was safe to go to ground level, so they landed next to Fusagu.

"You know, you could really be a great member of our team." Wanda was blinking at the struggling enemy in their prison against her house.

Ingrid was fighting hard not to say anything sarcastic. But finally caved in when they looked at her.

"Looks like he's really root bound, doesn't he?" She snickered.

The girls all looked at her.

"Brother." Tress rubbed her forehead.

"I don't get it." Blinked Fusagu, not familiar with Earth jokes or sarcasm.

"It's better if you don't." Tress patted his head.

There came a loud crashing noise, that told the girls Frost and his beast had broken loose from the trap. Instantly, Frost came pelting at them, catching them off guard.

A flash of black light interrupted the girls from flying away. Cerella looked up and saw Rhea sitting in the branch of one of the trees around Wanda's house.

"Still alive?" Blinked Cerella.

Matt sent several lasers at Frost and Rhea. Frost's beast reared itself up and was forced to stop. Rhea made a giant leap from the tree and landed in front of Wanda in one swift movement.

"You Guardians thought you'd finished me?" Snarled Rhea. "When I still have my trump card to play?" She raised her right hand, then Wanda had grabbed her left shoulder in a burst of searing pain.

"Wanda!" HuiLing tried to get to her side, but Frost bolted forward on his beast and knocked her out of the way.

"Quickly." He said as Wanda slowly fell to the ground.

"No!" Shouted Matt, flying forward at top speed. but he was forced to stop when Rhea picked up his daughter around the waist like she was a rag doll. Rhea's eyes glinted up at him as a needle appeared in her fingers.

"One more move and your precious daughter really WILL die." She said.

There was another flash of light, and Rhea, Frost and his beast vanished.

In the moment when Rhea and Frost had been distracted, however, Wanda remembered what her mother did with the Heart of Kandrikor to prevent it from being captured. She let the crystal necklace slip through her sleeve of her right hand and it rolled on the ground to HuiLing's feet as she disappeared and her transformation was undone. The other girls reverted back to their civilian state as well.

"Oh this is perfect." Said Cerella in a tone that suggested she was close to sinking the whole town in to a giant crater as Matt flew down and landed next to them. He transformed back in to his civilian form, and HuiLing saw the look on his face.

"Don't worry, Uncle! We'll get her back just as we got you guys back!" She smiled.

"HuiLing, what's that at your feet?" Asked Tress.

Blinking, HuiLing looked down and saw the Heart of Kandrikor glittering at her feet. She picked it up and was surprised at how warm it felt.

Derek had just gotten ready to head back to Earth when he heard the news from Matt that Wanda had been captured.

"What?" He half-shouted, unable to contain himself.

"And this time we don't know where Phobos' hide out is." Nodded Caleb.

"We may not, but I think this thing might!" HuiLing held up the glowing crystal.

"Hey, that's right!" HayLin said suddenly. "Remember, we used it to find Will when we first met after she was captured by Phobos!"

"In this case, it may not be so bad to follow the light." Smiled Irma.

"You and Derek will go find Wanda and bring her back." Will looked at HuiLing, Cerella, Tress, Ingrid and Derek who all nodded.

"Welcome Guardian of Meridian." Phobos said to Wanda, who was tied up with thorny rose branches and roots that came out of the ground.

"So you're Phobos?" Blinked Wanda, looking up at him.

"Yes, and you will tell me what you did with the Heart of Kandrikor." He replied with a sneer.

"Screw you." Spat Wanda. "I may not know much about this world yet, but I do know not to hand over the crystal to a prat like you."

"You dare talk to me in such a way you brat?" Phobos stood up, and the vines tightened themselves around her, the needles digging in to her skin and causing her to bleed all over.

"Yes I dare." She retorted. "You sniveling little slug monkey." She had no idea what the words meant in that form, but she knew it would get the reaction she desired. Wanda wanted to get him angry at her, she wanted him to be out raged.

And that is what she got.

"If you will not talk now, then perhaps some time in solitary confinement will do the trick." He looked down at her with steely eyes. "And this time, you will not escape my grasp."

Several guards appeared on either side of her, grabbed her roughly by the arms and hauled her away.

"Look! That must be his new hideout!" HuiLing pointed to where the crystal was leading them. So far they had trudged through dense swamp lands, and heavy mud-filled waters to get to this place.

"I can see why Phobos would want to keep on the move." Derek looked at the castle that nearly blended in with the surroundings.

"Yech...!" Cerella accidentally stepped in to a mud hole and had to be pulled out. "And these shoes were brand new!" She raged.

"Heaven forbid your footwear should get broken in a little." Sighed Ingrid, who had helped her out. She earned a nasty glare from Cerella.

"Guys, I think we're close!" HuiLing said. "This thing is going crazy."

It looked as if it was trying to break free from her hands, and was glowing brighter the closer they got to the castle.

"There must be a secret entrance or something..." Said Derek. He started looking around near the area that the crystal led them.

"Really, Derek, this is no time to play Sherlock Homes." Cerella huffed, still in a bad mood. "We're in Meridian, not England or Scotland, or wherever the heck those stories took place."

Derek grabbed a branch to try and move it, but found it was made of metal and only disguised as a fallen tree branch. The next thing the group knew, they had plummeted several feet below ground and landed in what looked like...

"Great... more tunnels." Sighed Ingrid as she stood up.

"You'd think Phobos would learn about where he puts his castles and tunnels." Stated Tress, rubbing the back of her neck.

"If he was trying for the old 'medieval' style, he got it down pat... stinky sewers and all." Nodded Cerella, plugging her nose at the stench.

"Ugh, girls..." Derek rolled his eyes, annoyed at the talking going on.

"Let's get going." Said Derek, helping his sister to her feet.

They followed HuiLing down the long tunnel, the light from the crystal illuminating only a few feet ahead of her at any given moment.

"Talk about follow the leader to the max." Ingrid muttered.

They reached the end of the tunnel, and HuiLing stopped so suddenly they nearly crashed in to her.

"Look!" She pointed up.

They saw Wanda was in a cage that was being lowered in to a single pit.

"Let's see how you like eternity in prison, Guardian of Meridian." The guard said, releasing the control and she fell in to the pit with a muffled yell.

"Well, at least she's alive." Whispered Ingrid.

"Quiet!" Said Derek as the guards passed.

They ducked out of sight, then waited for the dungeon to be empty of all guards.

"Ok, now." Derek looked around.

They reached the pit that Wanda had been dumped in to.

"Hey!" HuiLing called. "You down here Wanda?"

"Yeah. What's up?" Wanda looked up, still rubbing her knees.

"We think you dropped something." Cerella called down as HuiLing let go of the Heart of Kandrikor, and it fell gracefully down to Wanda at the bottom of the pit.

"Guardians Unite!" Wanda called out as soon as the crystal reached her outstretched hands.

There was a flash of red light, and the girls now stood in their Guardian form. Wanda soon flew up and landed next to them.

A muffled angry yell came from the doors to the dungeons, and the girls looked around.

"We need to brace the entrances." Said Derek at once.

Cerella opened her hands, directed the palms down at the ground. A giant tree root system rose up at each of the ground floor entrances. HuiLing saw stairs from above circling down to their level, and sent large bursts of air at the stairs, causing them to collapse.

There were loud crashes and bangs from out beyond the doors.

"Wanda, you remember how to get us back, right?" Derek looked at her, and she nodded.

She took out the crystal, and imitated the movement that her mother showed her the last time she was in Meridian.

"Hurry!" HuiLing said, as the doors on the second level burst open.

The girls went in to the veil first, followed quickly by Derek. They could hear a roar of rage and fury as the veil closed behind them when they stepped in to Cerella's parents' kitchen.

"Wanda!" Will hugged her daughter the second she came through, the veil, nearly bowling her over.

"Mom? What?" Wanda blinked.

"Matt told us what happened and how you got caught." Smiled YanLin.

"Well, we were able to find her and stall the guards long enough to get back." Smiled Cerella, flipping her hair around.

"And the fact that your clothes got ruined in the process doesn't matter anymore does it?" Asked Ingrid with a slight sneer.

"Now now, no fighting girls." YanLin warned as Wanda transformed them back to their civilian clothes. "The guests are waiting." She opened the kitchen door to the living room.

"I'm not going out there looking like this!" Cerella protested, pointing at all the mud and sewage water caked on to her clothes.

"Heaven forbid there should be a fashion disaster beyond the family kitchen." Caleb rubbed his forehead, already sick of the arguments.

"Here, I'll give you a quick bath." Said Ingrid. She waved her right hand. The sink in the countertop filled up with water, then the water was raised up slowly moving towards Cerella.

"Oh no... no, no no..." Cerella took several steps away, but Ingrid smirked evilly and the water was over her head in seconds. Then there was a loud splash. "You are so DEAD Ingrid!" Shouted Cerella, who was now soaking wet.

"Hey, at least you're not smelling like a sewer anymore." Smiled Ingrid, ducking out of Cerella's outstretched hands.

"This is the worst day ever." Cerella glared at Ingrid.

"Hey, chill out." HuiLing sent a gentle wave of air at Cerella, quickly drying her off.

"That does NOT excuse the fact that my best clothes are now ruined!" Glared Cerella.

"GIRLS." YanLin rarely raised her voice.

"Yes, Great Grandmother?" Asked HuiLing rather nervously.

"I do not know about you, but I'm ready for some partying." Smiled YanLin.

"I'll make you guys pay for this later." Cerella gave Ingrid and HuiLing an evil glare, before smiling elegantly and striding out in to the living area to greet the guests. "Sorry about the wait, the main guest of honor nearly bailed on us." She said with a twisted smile to Wanda's grandmother and grandfather, and everyone came out in to the now decorated living room.

The living room was full of purple streamers, and glittering geckos everywhere, even on the lamp posts and shades.

"You guys did all of this?" Blinked Wanda.

"Yep." Smiled Cerella, brimming with pride. "Dad tried to help, but he just ended up crashing to the floor on the ladder. So it was just Mom and I, but we had fun."

"I can tell." Blinked Ingrid.

"I'll be seeing purple geckos for a week after tonight." Tress was rubbing her eyes underneath her glasses.

"Tell me you weren't trying to bail on us, Wanda." Smiled Susan as she walked up. "Even after I went through the trouble of making your favorite cookies?"

Wanda gave a guilty smile.

"Well, at least Cerella didn't invite the whole school this time." She took one of the cookies and bit in to it. "Love it grandma! Almondette with chocolate chip!"

"Thought you would." Smiled Susan.

"Well, at least she knows how to cook now." Smiled Will.

"What's that mean?" Blinked Wanda up at her mother.

"You didn't have to deal with Sewer Soup when your grandma was still single." Said Will, looking rather green at the thought.

"Hey, Wanda," Derek said after everyone was involved in their own conversation and Wanda was enjoying some peace on the armchair by a bay window. "I've got something for you." He handed her a square package wrapped in plain paper.

"What is it?" She blinked.

"Just wanted to give you something for a little decoration." Smiled Derek, looking rather nervously.

He didn't see Cerella tapping HuiLing on the shoulders, and the two looking over with curious expressions on their faces.

Wanda unwrapped the paper and blinked.

"I thought it suited you." Said Derek, clearly waiting for her reaction.

It was a picture of her in her Guardian form, with lightning swirling around her.

"So that's what you asked Dad about and were in Meridian for such a long time for?" Cerella snuck up on the two of them.

"Wow, you're good at that!" Said HuiLing, leaning over Wanda's shoulders.

Derek gave a clearly annoyed look at the girls.

"What's it made from?" Asked Wanda, ignoring them.

"It's made from Emerald stones, silver veins, ruby, and Meridian Aqua dragon scales." He replied. "There is also Tiger Lily powder in there."

"I like it." She smiled up at him.

HuiLing looked at Wanda, then Derek, and back again. Then she smiled brightly.

"All right girls, we need to go get dinner ready!" She said suddenly, making Cerella, Tress and Ingrid jump. She corralled the trio in to the kitchen. After a quick look at Wanda and Derek, she closed the doors.

"HuiLing, dinner is already ready." Cerella said angrily.

"I know, but can't you tell when he wants to talk to her alone?" Asked HuiLing, surprisingly serious. "He's your brother."

"Yes, but I like annoying him." Cerella flipped her hair around.

HuiLing and the other two looked at her.

"Thanks for this. I really do like it." Wanda smiled up at Derek.

"Uh... yeah... you're welcome." He had a hand behind his head. Now that he was alone with her, he wasn't entirely sure what to say. Suddenly he found she had wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug before pulling away.

"Anyways, let's get back to that party, shall we?" He asked, feeling his face burning red and seeing hers the same shade. At least it did not turn out to be a disaster. Perhaps there was hope after all, even if he did not quite say what he really wanted to tell her. He would just have to wait and hope things continued to improve.

HuiLing glanced out of the kitchen doors, and smiled when she saw the two joining the families, and opened up the kitchen again. Now the girls had all the food that was prepared in their arms, bringing it out to the rather large dining table.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: **

**Stand Our Ground **

The girls were at the park enjoying their weekend at last. Wanda leaned against a tree, today having decided to wear her hair back in a purple headband, a purple shirt with a light blue jean jacket, blue jean pants, and white shoes.

Cerella sat on a nearby swing, wearing a pink skirt, a floral pink shirt with puffed sleeves with a bell shape, her blond hair back in an elegant braid that hung down a short way beyond her waist.

HuiLing kept her long black hair in its traditional half Chinese style braid, but she wore a bright yellow tank top, blue jean shorts, and light yellow sandals. On her wrist was a watch that was slightly too big for her so she wore it backwards.

Ingrid had her hair in blue pigtails, wearing a blue tank top, a blue mini skirt, and blue shoes. She smirked from her spot on the picnic blanket.

Tress wore her black hair in a single pony tail. Her shirt was fire orange, her pants were a color of brown that helped bring out the color of the shirt, and her shoes were black.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Asked Ingrid, reaching for a sandwich.

"I don't know..." Shrugged Cerella from her spot on the swing.

"Didn't we come here for some training?" Asked HuiLing.

"Yeah, but Derek isn't here yet." Wanda looked around.

"Oh well. Let's just have some fun until then." Cerella gave a giant push with her legs on the swing, and jumped from it on the upward arch, landing elegantly near the blanket.

"Show off." Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"Hey! You guys know that Valentine's Day is next month, right?" Asked HuiLing suddenly.

"Yeah? What about it?" Asked Ingrid.

"Well, are you guys going to give anything to your crushes?" Smiled HuiLing.

"You know I am." Cerella spun around elegantly on the spot. "Odin Lars in the next class up from us."

"That computer geek that's always hanging out with my Dad?" Blinked Ingrid in surprise.

"The very one." Smiled Cerella, flipping her hair around.

"Who would've thought the prima-donna of our class would go for the geek of another." Ingrid took a bite of tuna sandwich.

"Well, it just goes to show that opposites attract." Smiled Tress.

"What about you guys?" Asked Cerella.

"Stevie Goodwin." Smiled HuiLing. "You know, the sports jokey in our class. He's always been so nice to me, ever since we were kids."

"We're still kids, technically... preteens." Shrugged Wanda.

"So? We're not getting technical here." HuiLing looked sharply at her.

"And you guys?" Cerella grilled the remaining girls who had not stated their targets for Valentine's Day gifting.

"I'm going to give something to Roger Smith." Said Ingrid in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"Please, you two always give something to each other. Why don't you just start dating and be done with it?" Asked Tress.

"Yeah? What about with you and Loren Holmes?" Snapped Ingrid.

"So? We're good friends, and it's just traditional on Valentine's to send one." The two continued to argue for a few more minutes.

"Hey! There's one more of us who hasn't stated who she's going to give a gift to..." HuiLing realized, and they all turned on Wanda, who blinked from her spot at the tree.

"I don't even like anybody, so why would I give a gift?" She asked, even if her face was bright magenta.

"Come on, you're going to give something to Derek. We all know it." HuiLing pointed at her. "You know you can't hide anything from us." She added.

"Oh, and for the record, my brother loves your cooking." Cerella put in mischievously.

Wanda shot a glare at Cerella.

"Well, good to see everyone's here. Now if you're all done talking about boys, let's get to work." Derek surprised the group out of their conversation.

"Kill joy." Cerella glared at Derek, who shrugged.

Wanda stood up, noting that he seemed rather grouchier than usual.

"Oh well. We still have a month to plan!" HuiLing said enthusiastically as she, Ingrid, Tress and Cerella got in to a circle around Wanda.

Wanda rolled her eyes.

"Can we move on now?" Asked Derek, slightly irritated.

"Please." Agreed Wanda. The girls fell awkwardly silent and she held up the Heart of Kandrikor. "Guardians Unite!" She called out.

When the group reemerged as the Guardians of Meridian, they looked over at Derek.

"So now what?" Asked Cerella.

"We need to work on your team work. I've seen you guys do great at the last moment, but we need to get that going all the time." He said, his arms crossed.

"So, what's your plan?" Asked Ingrid.

"Some training in Meridian against some of Phobos' former supporters who now work with the Queen." Derek said.

"Then why did you have us come here first?" Asked Cerella.

"To tell you before just ordering you to Meridian. Unless you would rather head in to the storm unprepared." Derek shrugged.

"Well... Looks like your brother's brain does work sometimes." Smiled HuiLing.

"Nice... Wanda, do the honors." Derek rolled his eyes, slightly irritated at the comment.

Wanda held up the Heart of Kandrikor and and did the slicing motion in mid air, creating a veil for them to walk through.

They reemerged back in the throne room of Elyons' castle, which was surprisingly empty. The Queen was out for the day.

"Let's go." Said Derek, and he led the way outside the castle, and to an open field nearby where a bunch of soldiers stood waiting. "The basic run down is this: The soldiers attack you and attempt to split you up because you're not as strong individually as you are united. And since they were once the enemy, then they know how to fight the Guardians. I'll watch from the sideline and call a halt when I think you've done enough for one day."

"Great..." Tress sighed. "Fighting former enemies of our parents."

"Just because we are now your allies doesn't mean we won't hold back." The leader said, holding up his sword.

"Well, then, neither will we." Said Wanda, holding up her hands and lightning sparking from them in all directions.

"Ready guys?" Asked Cerella, getting her own hands ready.

"Time to raise the roof." Smiled Ingrid, flexing her fingers.

"Just remember, you're not aiming to kill." Derek stepped back from the group. "Just defeat. There is a difference."

"Yeah, yeah. We know." HuiLing was looking exited nonetheless. She cracked her knuckles before taking to the air, followed by the others.

Derek watched as the girls used their powers and learned teamwork. When one girl was being attacked, the others would come to their aid. When another girl came up with an idea, they went with it even if it turned out to be not so great in the end- like HuiLing's idea of trying to attack from behind.

It was a long day, but by the end of it, Derek was pleased with their progress. Even as the girls landed on the ground, looking exhausted and sweaty.

"I'm beat." Said Ingrid.

"I'm going to need to bathe twice tonight to get all this mud out of my hair!" Cerella was wringing her hair to get the mud out of it from when she had been knocked to the ground by an attacker.

"What a tragedy should you need to lop it off." Grumbled Ingrid.

"Good job, girls." Derek came over with the men who helped in the training exercise. "We'll take a break tomorrow so you can get some rest.

"Not yet..." A voice came from behind the group.

Cedric had appeared at their training grounds, having been sent again by Phobos.

The group whipped around to see the giant green lizard staring down at them.

"Get to the castle and alert the Queen!" Derek ordered the group of soldiers. "The Guardians and I will handle lizard boy."

"It's time for 'how to take down a giant lizard one oh one' today..." Said Ingrid, balling her hands in to fists.

"Derek, you distract him." Wanda looked at him, and he nodded.

"Right." Just as Derek started to run at Cedric, a figure jumped from behind the giant lizard and landed, with sharp needles in her hands.

"It's her..." Wanda froze on the spot, having not forgotten the shoulder wound Rhea had given her.

Rhea's steely eyes were glinting as she observed the group. Her eyes focussed on Wanda, and Derek knew what his real duty in this fight would be- keeping Rhea away from Wanda.

"Serve me well and you will be rewarded." Cedric hissed at Rhea, who prepared for a fight with Derek, who was already heading straight at her.

"Of course." Replied Rhea.

"Let's go!" Wanda called out.

Just as she was about to fly with the girls, he a searing pain shot through her by from her shoulder and she was forced to stop, falling to the ground holding on to it.

"Wanda!" HuiLing went to her side at once. "You girls go on ahead, I'll take care of her!" She shouted, taking charge at once. "You okay? I thought Auntie Cornelia got you all better."

"Not all of it..." Wanda said through gritted teeth. She'd hoped not to have to tell her friends about it.

"No one can ever truly get my poison out once it's inside a body..." Rhea said. "Only I know the cure, and I will never tell you."

"How about I beat it out of you?" Asked Derek, unsheathing his sword that he kept with him whenever he was on Meridian. He managed to block several of Rhea's needles and dodge the rest.

"Think Derek can handle her points?" Asked Ingrid.

"He'll be fine, he's a big strong lad, after all." Cerella couldn't help but giggle at her own insult at her big brother. "Besides, he's got someone to worry about." She pointed back at Wanda, whom was being helped by HuiLing.

"Let's worry about lizard boy, okay?" Tress raised her hands as though holding an invisible bow and arrow. Then flame erupted in a completely controlled manner, and took the shape of her now known fire arrows. She aimed with the precision of a professional at Cedric as he began to race towards them. "You've made your point, King Lizard, now it's time for the Guardian of Fire to make hers." Her eyes glinted behind her glasses and her black hair swirled around as she fired her arrows once Cedric got close enough.

The one arrow turned in to at least twenty in the blink of an eye.

Cedric brought his tail up and whipped it at the arrows. Ingrid meantime had raised her hands and a giant wave of water rose from the ground with a loud rumble before forming in to what looked like a dragon.

"Nice touch." Cerella commented.

"Thought I'd go with an Oriental flare today." Smiled Ingrid.

"I'd like to know your secret sometime." Cerella watched as the dragon went straight for Cedric and knocked Cedric from the ground.

"My turn!" Cerella raised one hand, then directed it to the ground. "Going up, anyone?" She smirked as a giant pillar of rock shot up from below Cedric, forcing him to the ground.

"Watch it!" Derek shouted from below, having just now dodged several rogue rocks.

"Sorry big brother." Replied Cerella.

Wanda was slowly standing up with HuiLing, still holding on to her shoulders. What good was the training earlier if she couldn't fight? She watched the girls fighting, but also Derek, who was working his way towards Rhea, and the woman was shooting what looked like an endless supply of sharp needles at him. A boiling anger burned inside Wanda as she watched several needles get dangerously close to piercing Derek, and she forgot about her shoulder pain.

She had had it with Rhea. Storm clouds suddenly raged over head and the wind picked up.

Cerella looked over and saw Wanda was practically glowing with the power from the Heart of Kandrikor.

"What's got in to her?" Blinked Ingrid.

"I dunno, but I think we'd better get out of the way and pronto." Cerella could tell Wanda now meant business.

"Derek, get out of the way!" Shouted Wanda.

As much as Derek would have loved to play the role of hero in this fight and save Wanda, he could tell that something set her off. And he realized now that even with the training and practice, she still had little control over her power, along with little control over the Heart of Kandrikor. Anger shone in her eyes as she looked at Rhea, who's own eyes were glittering again at the sight before her.

"Shall I kill you now, Guardian?" Rhea gave an unseen sneer at Wanda.

Cedric looked on, wondering what his servant would do next.

Lightning crackled in Wanda's hands, even while HuiLing held her back.

"Let me go!" Demanded a furious Wanda.

"NO!" Shouted HuiLing. Something inside her was telling her that Wanda should not fight in this state. And she should keep Wanda back.

"Wanda..." Derek said, walking up, sheathing his sword. "You don't need to get so upset." He put a hand on her head. "We can all work together to beat them, you know that. Just because you're the leader of the Guardians doesn't mean all of the duties has to be your burden alone."

Wanda blinked several times at Derek and something about his words seemed to sink in. The light faded, and the lightning in her hands vanished. She fell limp again in HuiLing's arms from the pain in her shoulder.

"Enough of your useless dribble..." Growled Rhea.

"No..." Hissed Cedric. "We have accomplished our mission. We need to retreat to tell Phobos what we discovered."

"Mission?" Blinked Ingrid. "What mission?"

"You shall know soon enough, Young Guardian." Replied Cedric as he turned with a disappointed Rhea. "You all shall know."

"And here I thought I was finally going to get to off that little boy." Rhea looked like she was actually pouting.

Something rose in Derek. Something that was more like a protest. Little boy? He certainly was not a little boy. After all, he managed to avoid being hit by those poisoned needles while holding up his own against that woman. Before he could think up a snappy retort, the two had gone.

"Let's get back. She needs her rest." Said Cerella, with a hand on Wanda's forehead. "She's overworked herself again."

"We all need rest." Nodded Tress, who for once couldn't agree more with Cerella on something.

Derek looked back at the group, but more particularly, Wanda. There was a strangely serious look on his face as he observed her getting to her feet with slight difficulty.

"Yeah, let's go." He agreed after a short while. "It will be safe to walk if you want to undo your transformation."

The girls nodded. There was a flash, and they returned to their normal human forms. HuiLing supported Wanda while the six walked up to the castle. Elyon was waiting for them.

"Are you all right?" She asked, running up.

"Yes, but we're all tired." Smiled Wanda, who hadn't complained one bit on the way over. "Cedric and his crony left before we could do any real damage to them."

"All right, return to your homes on Earth then, and get some rest. Derek, you best do the same." The Queen smiled, seeing how tired and wore out they all really were.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Derek bowed.

Everyone looked at Wanda, who opened the veil with the Heart of Kandrikor once again for them to travel safely back to Earth and their homes.

Derek was too locked up in his own thoughts to really say anything as the girls were saying goodbye to each other on the streets.

"I'm going with you to make sure you get your rest!" Said HuiLing to Wanda.

"No, I'm fine now. I can make it down the block. REALLY." Replied Wanda with emphasis on the last word. She did not like anyone making a fuss over her over anything. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

She blinked when she saw the look on Derek's face. Particularly when he said nothing. It was as though he was trying to tell her something, or make up his mind over something. She turned before she would see anything else, and walked back to her home with a kind of backwards wave at the group.

Upon returning, it was near dark.

"Hi Wanda." Smiled Will. "How did your training go?"

"Good, but I'm beat." Sighed Wanda.

"Dinner's waiting for you in the dining room." Will pointed. "Your Grandma and Grandpa are out for the night."

"Thank you." Smiled Wanda, stretching her sore shoulder as she went to eat her dinner before hugging her father, and kissing her mother goodnight. She went up the stairs without saying much.

Once in her room, she changed in to a purple night gown and flopped on to her bed, looking out her window lost in thought about that day. She lost control when she thought Derek got hurt, but when he came up to her and started talking to her calmly, she regained control. The others were able to use their powers without worry. She wondered if this was how it had been for her mother, having to take a longer time than any of her friends to learn how to use her power properly.

Just before she fell to sleep, she realized she still wore the Heart of Kandrikor around her neck. She removed it, and looked at it glittering in the starlight and moonlight coming in from the window. It was a beautiful crystal, but its powers were amazing to behold. If not for her friends and Derek, she thought as she looked at it while sitting up cross legged on her bed, she might have destroyed herself easily that day. She placed it carefully on her bedside lamp, hooping the chain over the curve of the lamp so it would not fall or get lost, and went under her covers falling asleep quickly that night.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 **

**To Realize **

Wanda was walking with her friends, her hands behind her head. She was ignoring the talking while she thought about something her father was telling her about earlier that day.

"You know the dance going on Valentine's Day? Have you guys been asked to it yet?" Asked Cerella.

"No... Not yet." Sighed Ingrid, clearly annoyed by Cerella's constant talk about an event three weeks from now.

"Odin has already asked me. I'm just having trouble deciding what to wear!" Cerella twirled around on the spot, her long golden hair flapping about her as she moved. Today she was wearing a light pink shirt, maroon vest, and skirt, along with some light pink shoes. Her golden hair was in a maroon pony tail.

"Whoopdedo for you." Grumbled Wanda, who had been in a foul mood all day. She wore a purple shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. The Heart of Kandrikor was around her neck underneath the collar of her shirt to remain unseen by any passerby.

"What's with you?" Blinked Tress. Her black hair was in a single braid that day, and she wore an orange shirt, blue jean jacket, tan pants, and black shoes.

"Nothing." She lied. "I've got to go, I'll see you guys later." And she was off.

HuiLing blinked many times before turning on Cerella.

"You just HAD to bring up boys in to the conversation didn't you?" She asked. She wore a lilac shirt, purple skirt, and lilac shoes that day.

"What? Sooner or later Derek's going to ask her out, it's only a matter of time." Shrugged Cerella, oblivious to the glare she was receiving.

"That's not it..." Sighed Ingrid.

"Then what?" Cerella turned and was walking backwards while they talked now.

Ingrid stopped walking, thus so did the others.

"Her father's going to be performing at that dance, I overheard the Principal talking to him about it. And because it's Valentine's Day, there's going to be all kinds of guys that will be wanting to ask Wanda to a dance that she most likely won't attend JUST because she's Matt Olson's daughter. There, that clear enough for you?" Explained Ingrid.

Cerella blinked.

"I don't know what her problem is. I'd be flattered to have so many guys trying to ask me out." Cerella sighed dramatically.

"Hey guys," A voice came from behind them, and the four girls turned to see one of their classmates. A boy called Nick who had blond hair and blazing blue eyes. "I-is Wanda with you at all?" He asked rather nervously.

"Sorry, she stormed off a short while ago." Cerella said before anyone could stop her.

"Ah... I see... well, I'll just see if I can't talk to her later. See you round!" He looked rather disappointed.

"What was that all about?" Asked Derek as the boy disappeared. He had been looking for the girls all over town that day.

"Oh, just the first school boy trying to call on Wanda." Smiled HuiLing.

"What?" Blinked Derek in confusion.

"Why do boys have to be such idiots?" Asked Tress.

"Valentines Day is three weeks away, stupid." Explained Cerella to Derek in a know-it-all tone of voice that always got on his nerves.

"And with Wanda being here, and the daughter of a famous band guitarist, all kinds of guys will be seeking her heart over the next few weeks." HuiLing sidled up to the boy with a glint in her black eyes that meant the assault was going to start again.

Something in HuiLing's words had struck a cord today, however.

"Valentine's Day soon huh?" He looked at all the expectant eyes. "What?" He stepped back from the four girls a few paces.

Wanda walked alone down the streets of Heatherfield. Her feet found them wandering down the street of her mother's new job, a pet shop owned by her grandfather on her father's side. Blinking when she reached the doors, she stepped in, looking around at all the animals.

"Wanda! What are you doing in here on a Saturday? I thought you were with your friends?" Will blinked in surprise from behind the counter.

"I got bored of all the guy talk." She shrugged with a smile. "Can I stay here for a while, Mom?" She asked, sidling behind the counter as another customer came in through the door.

"Sure." Smiled Will. And she put Wanda to work on caring for the salamanders in their heated tanks, or the cats in their cages letting them out and play on the tall cat condo posts.

Sometime around noon, Matt and Derek came in through the door having run in to each other after Derek escaped the four girls that were Wanda's friends. Derek stared for a moment when he saw Wanda playing with a white, long furred kitten on one of the taller cat posts. She was laughing as the kitten nearly fell, but caught the little thing in her hands.

She turned to her mother.

"Mom, can I keep this one, please?" She asked as she moved some of her long brown hair back behind her shoulders with a free hand while the kitten climbed her other arm.

"Well..." She looked at Matt.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt, you practically live here when you're not with your friends just to play with her." Shrugged her father.

"Thank you!" Said Wanda brightly, she then spotted Derek. "Hi!" She said.

Derek blinked, caught off guard at having been spotted. He rarely saw her so cheerful except with her friends.

"Well, I'd better get a tag for her... what do you want to call her?" Asked Will, referring to the kitten.

"How about... Mimiru?" She asked. "It's a name I heard from a show on television that I liked. It seems to suit her. But I'll call her Mimi for short." She smiled as her mother came from behind the counter with a pink collar to put around the cats neck.

"Here you go, with some room to grow in to even." Will put the collar around the kitten's neck and made sure the cat wouldn't be hurt by it.

"Personally I'm surprised she didn't pick a lizard." Matt was saying as he handed Will her lunch bag.

"Well, at least she picked an animal with more responsibility to it." Will smiled as she eyed Wanda going over to say hello to Derek.

"So, what's up?" Asked Wanda, still letting her new cat play on her shoulder.

"Just escaped your friends." Admitted Derek.

"OUCH..." Said Wanda suddenly as her new cat bit down on some hair right next to her right ear. "Mimi..." She tried reaching over but could not quite get the cat to let go from the angle she was at.

"Here..." Derek reached over and carefully pulled the cat's teeth from the hair.

Will and Matt looked at each other with raised eyebrows before Matt walked by the two and put a strong hand on Derek.

"Let's get going, kiddo, Wanda needs to get back to work." He added.

Derek blinked at Matt before handing the cat back to Wanda and walking out with Matt.

Wanda went back to taking care of the cats while letting her own roam free. Mimi surprisingly enough hung around Wanda's feet like a baby chick the rest of the day, somehow knowing Wanda was her new owner and couldn't have looked happier about it. She decided when she was at her mother's job to help her because she too loved animals so much. She would also bring her cat with her and let the kitten roam free so long as she had her pink collar with the name tag clipped to it. It quickly became an odd sight not to see Wanda at her mother's work without her cat Mimi, who was fast growing and very social under the care and attention that Wanda gave her.

One afternoon after school, Cerella, Tress, Ingrid and HuiLing were at the shop helping Wanda earn a tall cat condo scratching post for Mimi's use at the house when Derek came running in.

"What's up?" Blinked Wanda just as she was dipping some rats in to the snake tanks for the creatures inside to devour.

"I'm sorry, but there's bad news. Cedric is attacking the village just below the castle in Meridian." Derek breathed as he tried to catch his breath.

"It's ok," Said Will, coming out from the back room, having heard the statement. "I'll keep Mimi here." She picked up the kitten that was trying to claw in Wanda's direction.

"Ready girls?" Wanda looked over at her friends, who nodded. Wanda pulled out the Heart of Kandrikor from underneath her shirt collar, and held it up. "Guardians Unite!" She called out when the other four had surrounded her in a square.

There was a flash of red light that quickly turned in to five spheres, one red, the second watery blue, the third bright green and the last was sky blue. The spheres enveloped the girls, and turned pure red before vanishing and revealing the girls in their Guardian outfits. Wanda took the Heart of Kandrikor then and did the swiping motion to form the bridge between Earth and Meridian, then the group stepped through it with Derek following shortly.

Wanda reemerged right on the outskirts of the village, which turned out to be a good judgement call. The group had to dodge a shower of needles from Rhea the moment they arrived. Cerella raised her hands from her spot in the air, and a wall of thick earth shot up in front of her brother as a fresh wave of needles came at him.

HuiLing sent a wave of spiraling air at the needles, sending them to Cedric, who had yet to take his lizard form.

In reaction he did take the form of the giant lizard, and smashed his tail down on the flat ends of the needles, slamming them to the ground with an earth shaking boom.

"So, Guardians, you've shown yourselves on Meridian once again!" Cedric hissed.

"Did you miss us?" Asked Ingrid as the group flew back together and landed.

"Not necessarily." Replied Rhea, her eyes narrowing.

There was a tense moment of silence between the group as Derek walked up to stand next to his sister.

Cedric moved his eyes in Wanda's direction and a smirk crossed his lips.

"Rhea... You know the plan." He hissed.

"Yes." She replied, reaching in to her shirt and pulling out a group of four needles that somehow looked different from the ones she had used on them before.

The girls tensed, wondering what was coming next when Rhea threw the needles at them. The five girls took to the air at once while Derek dodged out of the way. The needles exploded on contact with the ground, ripping it apart before their very eyes.

"Whoo... good thing we've got quick reflexes." Sighed HuiLing in relief.

Another wave of needles went in Wanda's direction, and Ingrid was the first to react this time. She raised her hands, and spheres of water appeared, engulfing each needle. HuiLing then sent a blast of cold air in their direction and the spheres of water turned in to perfect spheres of ice before clunking to the ground and exploding once again.

"I think she's trying to make a point of some kind..." Smiled HuiLing.

"Yeah, I don't wanna stick around long enough to find out what it is though." Said Wanda, bringing up her right hand and sending blast after blast of lightning in the direction of Cedric and Rhea who had to move quick to avoid being electrocuted.

Rhea managed to flash step out of the way while Cedric moved in another direction away from the group.

Derek watched the fight continue against Rhea, who seemed determined to kill at least one of the Guardians before the day was done.

"At least this isn't one of Cerella's sewing lessons..." Said Tress.

"Yeah, hers are more explosive than this." Smiled Ingrid, earning a glare from Cerella.

There was a flash of needle that missed Wanda's right ear by inches, and Wanda ended up having to dodge by getting back on the ground.

Rhea took advantage of the moment by reaching in to her shirt with both hands and pulling out eight needles and throwing them at lightning speed at Wanda from the sidelines.

Derek acted fast at that moment, seeing what was happening before it happened and ran at Wanda. He wrapped his arms around her in a moment and knocked her out of the way. The two landed sideways on the ground as the spot where she had been standing was torn apart by the eight explosive needles, sending rubble and rocks everywhere. Once things calmed down, Wanda stood up.

"You ok?" Asked Derek as he too rose to his feet, and Wanda nodded, still looking a little shaken up from the event.

"Stupid boy..." Growled Rhea. "Interfering with my work."

"If I'm such a stupid boy how come I always seem to have the upper hand over you?" Retorted Derek, unable to restrain himself from that comment.

"Chance and luck, tools you and your Guardians seem to be able to utilize quite well." Rhea prepared more needles for another onslaught.

"Just a one trick pony? Boring." Sighed Ingrid.

At that moment, a wave of water shot from the side, and Fusagu appeared on the scene, the palms of his hands directed at Cedric and Rhea.

"Glad I got here just on time." He said with a smile at his friends. "Your Mom got a hold of me and told me where to find you guys." He looked at Wanda. "And the Queen opened up a veil for me."

Rhea was soaking wet now and slightly weakened by the blast of water that caught her by surprise.

"The cavalry is here, eh?" She grumbled.

"Rhea, why do you keep fighting with Phobos and Cedric? You know they are the evil ones!" Said Fusagu, who looked odd in his Earth clothing- he wore a blue shirt, jean jacket, black pants, and shoes.

"Says a little boy..." Grumbled Rhea.

"A little boy who's done much more than you could imagine to redeem himself already." Retorted Ingrid, landing in front of Fusagu, a fiercely protective gleam in her eyes. She had begun to look at Fusagu as a little brother, and he blinked up in surprise at the Guardians' back. "HuiLing!" Shouted Ingrid, and HuiLing nodded as Rhea sent a wave of needles at the two.

A wave of water shot up between Ingrid and the needles, then half a second later it became a wall of ice that shattered once the needles came in to contact and exploded.

While Rhea was distracted, Wanda saw this as a moment to attack, and looked at Tress and the two nodded. Flying together, they directed their hands at Cedric, who braced himself and started towards them. A pillar of fire shot from Tress' hand, and a spiral of lightning from Wanda's. The two elements combined in to a sparkling pillar of fire and lightning that when they struck Cedric, caused him to let out a lizard-like roar of rage and pain before transforming back in to his human form, crouched on the ground.

"Cedric!" Rhea turned in surprise.

"Don't get distracted, isn't that what you always tell us?" Asked Cerella, landing on the ground and planting her hands on it the moment she landed.

The ground started shaking violently, then a whole hill seemed to rise where Cedric had been standing.

Rhea and Cedric were both forced to move fast. Rhea's eyes gleamed silver as she hovered in the air. She looked at Wanda, and her eyes narrowed in a smile.

"You haven't even begun to see my power, Guardians." She said, flash stepping in mid air, grabbing Cedric, and landing far enough away that the Guardians' power could not reach them. "Next time, I'll give you guys a real show."

"Wait!" Shouted Wanda, but a strong hand clamped down on her right wrist, stopping her from going after Rhea and Cedric. She looked back at Derek with a frown. He frowned back at her.

"Glare at me all you like, but it's pointless chasing after something that's not there." He stated, pointing with his free hand at the spot where the two had been just moments ago.

"What was the point of all this?" Blinked HuiLing, landing next to Wanda.

"Not a clue." Shrugged Ingrid, looking back at Fusagu.

"Maybe it was to test us?" Suggested Tress.

"Test...?" Stared Ingrid.

"That's exactly what this was about... I could feel Phobos watching us the whole time." Said Fusagu, walking up to join the group. "We need to be careful in the future about how we fight, and not reveal too many new techniques to him."

"I get it." Cerella had stood up and was with the group. "Keep the element of surprise."

"Well, you're not so much of the stupid blond stereotype as you make yourself out to be." Smirked Ingrid.

"Nice." Grumbled Cerella while HuiLing and Tress giggled madly.

"You can let go now, you know." Wanda snapped at Derek, who blinked realizing he had not released her yet, and did so looking rather abashed.

At this, Cerella and the others looked at each other with smirks on their faces.

"What?" Wanda demanded.

"Nothing! Let's get back to Earth before Mimi tries to eat the cat post in your Mom's store." HuiLing flew over to Wanda's side, still smiling broadly in spite of herself.

"So... the new Guardian's powers are improving... Not unexpected." Phobos muttered as he dismissed the sand mirror that showed him what the Guardians were up to, and what was going on in Meridian.

"So now what? We plan our next move?" Asked an impatient Rhea.

"Yes." Nodded Phobos. "And to do that... we shall summon... Ice..."

"Ice? Her?" Snapped Rhea, now annoyed.

"It is a pleasure to finally serve you my lord." Came a voice that chilled everyone to the bone. Ice appeared from the shadows, her brilliant blue eyes gleaming in the darkness as she looked up at Phobos.

"I'm home!" Wanda called in to the house.

"Hi, honey, you're rather late tonight." Susan smiled. "Your Mom told me all about how hard you're working to earn some more toys for little Mimi. Dinner's ready for you."

"Thanks. Where's grandpa?" Blinked Wanda, looking around. "And Daddy?"

"Oh, your Dad had to stay late for his work too, and Grandpa is working at the school with some essays handed in late." She said with a raised eyebrow, and Wanda gave a nervous laugh as she took off her shoes at the door before going over to the table with Mimi right on her tail.

Wanda saw that hot homemade soup was on the table waiting for her.

"Well... at least according to Mom, grandma's cooking got better after she married." Smiled Wanda, petting her cat's back.

"What was that?" Her Grandmother said from the doorway.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Said Wanda rather quickly before starting to eat her soup rather fast. "Thanks for dinner!" She told her grandmother before running up the stairs and being chased by her cat. She flopped on to her bed while Mimi had to take at least three tries before making it up with her on the bed. Wanda rolled over and pinned the kitten in her arms.

The kitten purred, rubbing its face against hers, and Wanda couldn't help but giggle a little bit, scratching behind Mimi's ears, sitting up and taking the Heart of Kandrikor from around her neck and putting it on its spot hanging around the hoop of her bedside lamp before changing in to a purple nightdress.

Mimi danced around Wanda's feet, pawing at them playfully as it moved and jumping back when her feet moved to avoid getting stepped on. When Wanda got under her covers, her kitten bounced on to the bed after another three tries and curled up near her head on the pillows as she turned off the bedroom light. The heart of Kandrikor seemed to glow in the darkness, a deep, calming red light.

The cat looked at the necklace a long time, its blue eyes clashing brilliantly against the red light of the crystal, before going to sleep at last.

An hour later, Will and Matt arrived home, and checked on their daughter. By then, the light had faded, and Mimi was asleep as well as Wanda. Will closed the door, leaving Wanda to her sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Bringing on the Ice **

HuiLing yawned. It was early in the morning, and someone was knocking on her bedroom door. She had not yet braided her hair, and it hung down to her knees sticking out randomly.

"Yes?" She said groggily, opening her bedroom door a crack. She saw her great grandmother smiling up at her.

"Hurry up, great granddaughter. You said you were going out with your friends today, yes?" Replied YanLin.

"That's right! By the way, where's mom?" HuiLing scrambled to get dressed.

"Mom is at work. She sent me here to make sure you're awake." YanLin blinked when she noticed that HuiLing was no longer visible. "Great Granddaughter, where did you run off to?"

"What are you talking about, Grandma?" HuiLing's voice sounded somewhere near her dresser drawer and mirror. "I'm right here!"

"All I can see is your undies floating in mid air." Replied YanLin.

"Huh?" HuiLing gave an unseen blink, and looked at the mirror. "Wow! I'm invisible?" She exclaimed in her surprise, reappearing half dressed.

"Hurry up and put your clothes on, Great Granddaughter. You can't go around town half naked." YanLin closed HuiLing's door behind her.

"Wakey-wakey, Wanda!" Came an electronic-sounding male voice that she didn't recognize. She grunted, pulling her covers over her head.

"Come on, morning's aren't that bad!" Came another female voice from the direction of her iPod.

"Yeah, you can play with me in mornings, remember?" Came a voice from the area around her Nintendo Wii.

"Ugh... FINE!" Wanda sat up so suddenly that her cat went flying from the pillow she'd been curled up on. The cat growled at her, her fur rising up in irritation at the sudden movement. "Seriously... can you guys chill?"

She plugged the iPod in to her iHome stereo.

"How about some nice jPop music today to wake you up?" Asked the female voice from the iPod.

"Sounds great... just nothing that will wake up my grandparents ok?" Grumbled Wanda as she dressed herself in her purple shirt, blue jeans, purple socks, and blue jean jacket.

"Oh, and by the way, my real name is Ai." Snapped the iPod.

"And I am Jack." Replied the lamp.

"Nice to meet you." Sighed Wanda, sitting on her bed as the cat jumped down finally.

"Wanda, what are you doing up so early?" Will poked her head in to her daughters' room.

"My iPod and lamp wouldn't shut up." Retorted Wanda.

"Come on, the early bird catches the worm!" Replied Ai's voice.

"For one thing, I'm not a bird. And another, I hate worms." Snapped Wanda at the iPod. "Mom, is there anything about my Powers that you neglected to mention?"

"Ah... you're already at the talking appliances stage?" Smiled Will rather nervously. "Well, being the Guardian of Quintessence, that means anything with an electrical current, AC or DC, means... Basically..."

"We have the ability to communicate with our everyday appliances? Lovely." Grumbled Wanda as Matt came in to check on Will and Wanda.

Ingrid was busy in her kitchen later that morning. She waved goodbye to her father as he left for work for the day, and she then turned her concentration on her own breakfast. She grabbed a glass, and put it under the faucet. An idea struck her and she decided to try and get water out of it without turning the tap. She put the glass under the faucet, focused her attention on getting the water, and in the next moment she was soaked in it as water came bursting out. She jumped back.

"Uh... MOM!" She screeched.

Irma came running in to see the growing mess in the kitchen.

"Ingrid, what in heaven's name happened?"

"I dunno Mom, all I wanted to do was see if I could make some water come out without using the taps, and Niagra Falls decided to make our kitchen in to a pool instead." Replied Ingrid, hiding behind her mother.

"Well... if you can summon Niagra Falls, then you can surely stop it." Smiled Irma, and Ingrid stared up at her mother as though she were insane. "Having the ability to use Guardian powers means you can't abuse it, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." Blinked Ingrid at the growing pool of water. She stood back in front of her mother and focussed on the water, raising her hands with the palms flat, and closing her eyes.

Irma remained silent while she watched her daughter try and focus. After several moments of silence, the water finally stopped.

"Great job, now you can clean up this mess before you go hang out with your friends." Irma put a hand on Ingrid's shoulder. "WITHOUT using your powers."

Ingrid glared up at her mother, and went to find the mop and broom.

Cerella yawned. She needed to get dressed, sitting all day in her flowery night gown would do her nothing for her complexion or hair. Looking at herself in the mirror, she realized she was having a bad hair morning and went in search of her hair brush. Before she had a chance to actually find it, the hair brush came floating from her nightstand to her right hand.

She looked at the brush, then her nightstand with an amused look on her face.

"Wow... sweet." She brushed her hair before getting herself dressed, and she tried the power again, watching with a smile on her face as her clothes floated in midair before she put them on.

Tress was waiting for her friends at HuiLing's place before heading over to check on Wanda. Her morning had gone on as usual, except for the added ability of telepathy. She found out she could read her mother's mind while doing her morning routine. Her mother explained that was one of the powers that she herself had while being a Guardian. She was thrilled to have some new powers to work with.

Apparently HuiLing was already up and about, according to her parents, and HuiLing had gone in search of their friend, Wandas' parents.

HuiLing did not notice she had gone invisible again when she found Wanda's mother and father discussing something with curious expressions on their faces.

"Wanda's going to be fifteen next week on the fifteenth... Hard to believe, isn't it?" Will was saying.

"Yeah, but she doesn't like big birthday parties full of tons of people, so what should we do?" Asked Matt.

HuiLing smiled in spite of herself, and then ran off before actually talking to Wanda's mother and father.

"Hey, guess who's birthday it is in a week?" Said HuiLing to Cerella, Tress and Ingrid.

"Albert Einstein's?" Asked Ingrid, not really in the mood for guessing games.

"NO, genius. It's Wanda's. I overheard her mom and dad talking about it being on the fifteenth of January, and that's just a week away!"

"Oh! We should do something for her!" Said Tress, suddenly exited.

"But what? She hates big gatherings of people." Replied Ingrid.

"How about a small party at her home?" Asked Cerella. "I can handle the decorations if HuiLing or Derek keeps her from her home for a day."

"That sounds great! And I'll ask my Mom and Grandma to do the cooking." HuiLing practically bounced on the spot.

"Ingrid and I will handle the gifts." Smiled Tress, a devious look in her eyes.

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late." Wanda came up on the group. They were gathered at the park again. "Grandma wouldn't stop talking today." She smiled, holding up her picnic basket full of the food she had promised for their lunch.

"Not a problem girly." HuiLing skipped over to her friend and grabbed the basket.

"Hey, is Derek going to be here today?" Blinked Ingrid, looking around as though expecting him to pop up out of nowhere.

"No, he had some work to do for the Queen back in Meridian." Sighed Cerella as she grabbed one of the Honey-crisp apples that Wanda brought for the group. "Mmmm... I love Heatherfield's produce!" She exclaimed.

"I miss the sour dough bread from San Francisco though." Sighed Wanda as she looked at her sandwich rather woefully.

"Honestly, the way you and your family ate back there I'm surprised you haven't all turned in to blimps." Smiled Cerella.

"Hey, I exercised plenty. Nintendo Wii, and the walks Mom and I take in the morning are great for my figure." Snapped Wanda.

"All the metabolism used to avoid the boys seeking your hand for a date on Valentine's Day is helpful too I imagine." Muttered Ingrid, and HuiLing giggled madly as she was eating her Chinese food with chopsticks for her lunch.

Wanda shot Ingrid a glare as she started eating her own sandwich.

"All right... now that we're fed and watered... how bout some training? Derek looked like he was going to throttle us when we said we were just going to play all day." Wanda stood up after they put their empty food packages in the picnic basket.

"Ugh... fine. No work and no play makes Jack a dull boy I guess." Ingrid rolled her eyes, standing up.

"Guardians Unite!" Called out Wanda before Cerella could protest.

When the group reemerged from the spheres of light emitted from the Heart of Kandrikar.

"So what are we doing? Just getting a better feel of our powers today, or what?" Asked Tress.

"Where's HuiLing?" Blinked Cerella, looking around. In the next second, she had let out a yell as HuiLing grabbed her shoulders, appearing out of nowhere.

"See what I can do now?" Smirked HuiLing.

"Make yourself invisible and be the next prankster ghost?" Said Ingrid even though she was grinning and fighting the mad desire to laugh at Cerella's reation.

"That too... but I found out earlier today I can make myself invisible! Still working out the kinks in that though..."

"Apparently." Cerella grumbled. "Look what I can do." She flew up in to the air, and directed her right hand at the picnic blanket on the ground. It was folded up in to a neat square as though by invisible hands, and placed on top of the basket.

"Telekinesis? Nice!" Replied Wanda.

"That is nothing... I can read people's minds." Tress retorted. "And I heard that." She looked at Ingrid as she thought "show off".

"Well, at least all your powers are useful..." Sighed Wanda. "All I've got is the ability to talk with any kind of electrical device."

"That sounds cool, though!" HuiLing's voice came from Wanda's right even though she was not visible, making Wanda jump and send lightning at Cerella who screeched and ducked.

"You singed my HAIR!" Cerella bellowed at Wanda as HuiLing giggled again. "It's bad ENOUGH that I woke up with bad hair in the morning, but now I've gotta go home looking like I'm fresh from a lightning storm? UGH!" She stomped her foot, causing the Earth to shake violently.

"Like you'll be seeing anybody that matters at home." Growled Wanda, her hands over her ears to try and block out the din.

"Ohhh... Cerella got herself a haircut today." Ingrid giggled. "What a tragedy."

"Um... Cerel', would you mind hitting the off on Earthquake Mode?" Asked Tress, who was forced to take flight.

Cerella looked at the ground and managed to stop the ground from shaking.

"Well, the news will be full of new reports tonight." Said Ingrid sarcastically. She looked at the lake near the park and grinned. "Watch this..." She told the group.

A giant sphere of water appeared as Ingrid shaped her hands around an invisible ball, or so it seemed.

"Wow, a giant ball of water." Grumbled Cerella.

Ingrid looked at Cerella, and the sphere of water.

"Oh no..." Blinked Wanda, knowing what kind of revenge was coming next.

HuiLing, Ingrid and Tress all closed there eyes as Ingrid sent the sphere of water over Cerella.

"Don't... you... DARE..." Cerella stared up at the water.

SPLASH.

Cerella was looking like she was going to scream, and scream she did.

"Whoops... I must have misjudged where to land it. I was going for the less extreme of Lake Egotistical." Said Ingrid.

"Wanda, are we done yet? I'm tired of playing target practice for you guys." Snapped Cerella.

"How bout a steam dry?" Asked Tress, a ball of fire appearing in her hands.

"Oh no... no, no no no no no!" Cerella retorted, as HuiLing took to the air to practice her flying.

"Relax, I was only joking." Shrugged Tress.

"Wow... Tress with a sense of humor." Blinked Ingrid.

"Ok... I think we've destroyed enough of Heatherfield for one day..." Wanda pulled out the Heart of Kandrikor from underneath her shirt neck. There was a flash of light, and the four girls were returned back to their civilian forms.

"Where's HuiLing?" Asked Tress, looking around.

Moments later, they heard HuiLing screaming from the sky as she fell and landed in the lake. She surfaced from the water, spitting it out of her mouth as she swam to shore.

"Sorry bout that." Wanda pulled HuiLing out of the lake.

"I wonder how high the earthquake will read on the geologists end." Said Tress as she picked up the basket.

"Let's just go shopping... Ok?" Sighed Cerella, not wanting to think about it.

Derek was in the swamps of Meridian, on his own except for the Passling, Blunk, who still had the Tooth to make folds in space to travel.

"You sure this is where Phobos is hiding?" Asked Derek.

"Un-huh." Nodded Blunk. "Blunk smell Phobos miles away. Blunk knows smell better than own."

"Nice... I imagine that's not hard to do. Let's get in closer, see if we can see him anywhere. If I need to, I'll have to have you make a portal to get back to the castle or Earth." Derek instructed. "At least the swamp makes your scent bearable. Don't know how mom and dad ever managed to be around you so much back then."

Blunk gave a throaty laugh.

"But you HAVE to be quiet." Snapped Derek. "Otherwise you'll get a bath the moment we get back to Earth."

Blunk's eyes went wide in fear at the mention of a bath, then followed in silence as well as he could.

"How is your investigation, Ice?" Phobos was asking his spy.

Derek blinked from the shadows, hiding behind several thick swamp trees. Derek blinked at the woman. He had never seen her before.

She had long wavy white hair that was kept in a pony tail. She wore a black cloak over her shoulders that hid her white gown. Her blue eyes gleamed in the darkness as she looked up at Phobos, her pale skin glowing in the shadow.

"It appears that the Guardian leaders' birthday is in one week. My spy tells me this directly from the home of the leader. However... The Guardians are each getting stronger by the day. Soon they will be strong enough to destroy us unless we are careful." Ice replied.

"I see... and it appears we have another spy in our midst..." Phobos glanced in Derek's direction without moving his head.

"I shall tend to him." Ice bowed her head, and vanished.

Derek blinked in alarm when she appeared before him. He unsheathed his sword, but he barely had the chance for a swing when he saw the sword turning in to ice, then his hand, arm, finally his body.

Blunk was nearby, and blinked several times before letting out a muffled yell, slicing the tooth through the air, and vanishing from Meridian.

Phobos glared in the direction that he heard the portal.

"I smell Passling meat." Cedric hissed, emerging from the castle.

The five girls emerged from the book store. Wanda held several comic books, Tress held a few thick textbooks on sculpting, Cerella several fashion magazines and design books, Ingrid carried some books on music and water sports, and HuiLing carried some books about gardening and garden home designs.

"Well, at least today wasn't a total disaster." Cerella was already thumbing through one of the bigger books on fashion and fashion design she had. "I've been eyeballing this for ages."  
>"Hey, how bout we go to the restaurant for lunch?" Suggested HuiLing.<p>

"Good idea... I've been wanting to go there for ages." Agreed Ingrid.

"Yeah... since last week?" Tress put out before she could stop herself.

"Hey, at least because of our relations we get free food there." Smiled Cerella.

At the restaurant, the girls had their books on the ground, and had just ordered.

"So, guess what? I saw Stevie at the park on our way out... I think he actually looked my way!" HuiLing exclaimed.

"Oh wow, call the press." Grumbled Cerella.

"Someone's still moody from earlier today." Grinned Ingrid.

"Please... let's not rain on her parade now." Cerella sighed.

At that moment, a smell reached the restaurant that made every customer gag.

"Ugh... what smells like rotted cheese mixed with old egg?" Cerella covered her nose with her hands.

"I just lost my appetite for Egg Foo Young." Tress grabbed her stomach.

Wanda looked around and saw the source of the smell was coming from the basement.

"Come on." She said to the group.

"Ugh... maybe great grandma let in the dumpster." HuiLing groaned as they stepped nearer to the basement.

"Well we'd better hurry or else the stink will drive everyone out." Tress pointed to the customers who were starting to rise from their seats in revulsion.

"Ok... here goes..." Wanda opened the door and they saw Blunk racing up the stairs and nearly tumbling in to the main restaurant.

"Blunk!" HayLin had heard and smelled the commotion, bending over and picking up the small Passling.

"Smiley girl Guardian!" Exclaimed Blunk.

"What are you doing here?" Asked HayLin, leading the group to the basement, closing the door.

"Serious boy Derek in trouble!" Burst out Blunk. "Turned in to ice by strange girl before Blunk could get Derek out of it."

"Derek's in trouble?" Blinked Wanda and Cerella, Wanda's mind racing.

Tress looked at Wanda with a knowing smirk on her face.

"Not a word." Wanda glared at Tress, who looked up at the ceiling as though she hadn't read Wanda's mind or seen the reaction.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll call your parents and let them know. Good luck!" HayLin bounced out of the basement.

"That's reassuring." Sighed Wanda as she pulled out the Heart of Kandrikor from underneath her shirt neckline. "Guardians unite!"

There was a flash of light, and the girls reemerged as the Guardians of Meridian once again.

"Ok, Blunk, take us to where you last saw Derek." Wanda looked down at the Passling, who was looking rather reluctant at the mention of going back.

"Blunk not going back there!" He exclaimed. "Swamp castle place dark and scary."

"If you DON'T help us, you get a bath." Ingrid threatened, a sphere of water appearing in her hands as she directed her palms at Blunk.

Blunk's eyes went wide.

"Funny girl know how to bargain good deal! Blunk take you back to spot where he last saw Derek!" Blunk said quickly, pulling the Tooth out and slicing through the air.

"Way to go, Ingrid." Tress was grinning in spite of herself at Blunk's reaction to the mere mention of a bath.

The six reemerged in Meridian where Derek has last been seen. Only to be assaulted by a giant lizard tail the moment the portal closed.

"Welcome back to Meridian, Guardians." Cedric hissed as the group scattered. HuiLing carried Blunk by his hands.

"Ugh... you know, maybe a bath wouldn't hurt you..." She mumbled.

"But Guardians promised!" Blunk said in panic.

"Gotta find Derek and make sure he doesn't get struck." Wanda was looking around.

"There!" Cerella pointed at what appeared to be an ice sculpture of her older brother in the midst of drawing his sword and taking a swing of something.

Cedric made for Derek as well as the Guardians, letting out a roar that shook the swamp land.

"Tress, can you Ingrid and HuiLing thaw him? We'll keep lizard boy busy." Wanda looked at Cerella.

"No problem. He must have found out something he shouldn't have to have been caught like this." Tress nodded, and the two started, Tress sending a pillar of fire at the ice sculpture while HuiLing and Ingrid sent hot air and water at the fire so that he would not get burned.

"Not so fast, Guardians..." Hissed Cedric.

Wanda and Cerella stood in front of the three as they continued their work of thawing Derek.

"And I say it's time to hang around... NO one messes with my big brother like that." Cerella glared. She raised her hands, and giant tree roots sprang up from the ground and wrapped around the giant lizard.

"Nice one..." Smiled Wanda.

"Or... not." Cerella had to fly backwards to avoid being struck as the tail of the giant lizard came crashing down.

"Easy!" HuiLing exclaimed as the ground shook around them.

A ball of water wrapped around Cedric, and Wanda blinked.

"Ingrid, I thought you were helping with Derek!" Cerella shouted before Wanda could.

"Hey don't look at me, I've been busy here!" Ingrid protested.

"Then that must mean..." Wanda looked, and sure enough, it was Fusagu.

"Hello Cedric, didja miss me?" Fusagu grinned as the sphere of water was complete, leaving only the lizard's giant head exposed.

"Fusagu... You traitor!" Roared the giant lizard.

"Glad we got that cleared up finally." Fusagu smiled even broader.

"You know what they say, Cedric," Wanda rose up in to the air, lighting starting to spark around her at seemingly random points. "Never play with electricity and water at the same time!"

She pointed the palms of her hands right at Cedric, who let out a loud and furious screech of pain as the ball of water soon encompassed the lightning Wanda sent at it. Light flashed all around and what sounded like a thousand tiny birds calling out at random intervals yet all at once filled the air.

"Lesson of the day- never piss off Cerella or Wanda." Ingrid smiled as finally Derek fell in to the muddy swamp water with a gasp of fresh air at last.

"Ugh... what happened?" Derek stood up with the help of HuiLing and Tress.

"That." Ingrid pointed as Cedric was forced back in to his human form, looking the worse for wear in his encounter with the Guardians and Fusagu.

"I think lizard boy must be a little rusty." HuiLing couldn't help but giggle as Cerella wrapped the now human Cedric in several giant roots from the earth below.

"And for the final touch, I think he should add a more feminine ensemble to his look." Her eyes narrowed as she focussed harder than ever. A bud appeared at the tips of the roots as they converged on the spot and rose up above the struggling Cedric. Moments later, a large blue rose blossomed that stood out spectacularly in the swamp land.

"Nice, blue suits lizard boy well." Ingrid said with a smile.

"That's my thought... great minds think alike." Cerella flipped her hair in a style that made her look like a clone of her mother.

"Let's get out of here." Wanda blinked seeing Cedric starting to break free.

"Right." The group all agreed, and Wanda created a veil for the group to travel through, just as Cedric broke free of the make shift prison.

He reached the veil just as it vanished, and let out a frustrated growl, spinning around on the spot.

"Doing all right?" Cerella asked her older brother as he sat down, still shivering.

"Yeah, but I think Phobos might be planning something." He said as the Guardians returned to their civilian forms once again.

"Planning something?" Blinked Wanda as YanLin came in to the basement of the restaurant with a blanket

Derek thanked her before returning his attention to the five girls.

"He's got this new spy who's at Wanda's house apparently... They've already learned your birthday and the last thing I remember hearing before becoming a human popsicle was that they had started planing something for that day." He said.

"A spy? But how's that possible? It's just mom, dad, my grandparents and me living there." Wanda blinked.

"Well, while we figure out how they're spying on you, Derek, you should've seen Wanda when she heard you were in trouble!" HuiLing put in randomly with a grin.

Derek blinked at HuiLing, then looked at Wanda who was turned away in plain defiance.

"Yeah, that look on her face was priceless." Tress agreed, following HuiLing's lead.

"Well, at least I'M not the target this time." Cerella huffed as she handed her brother a cup of tea.

"Don't make us change our minds." Ingrid warned, earning another glare from Cerella.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 **

**The Separation**

The girls were sitting at the lunch table in the cafeteria. It was the day of Wanda's birthday, but she showed no signs of recognizing it as her birthday. Apart from her responses to everyone who knew she was Matt Olson's daughter saying happy birthday to her.

"Thank you, much appreciated." She said as one of the boys who had been known to try and ask her to the Valentine's Day dance in February left the table. "Ugh." She said once he was out of earshot.

"Aw come on, that one was actually kind of cute!" HuiLing smiled brightly.

"Yeah? In what way?" Wanda glared at HuiLing, who giggled when she could not find an answer to that question.

"Come on, Wanda, you sound like a broken record every time a boy comes up and says-" Ingrid was interrupted mid-sentence.

"Just wanted to say happy birthday, Wanda." Derek sat down at the end of the table nearest to Wanda.

Wanda let out a shriek and fell out of her chair in surprise, causing many of their classmates to laugh.

"Derek, what in the heck are you doing here? This is MY school." Cerella said.

"Hey, I transferred here. Mom and Dad managed to get me in to the same classes as you guys." He shrugged as he reached down, grabbed Wanda's arm as she reached up from the floor, and pulled her up easily back in to her chair.

She blinked in surprise at how strong Derek really was, and Tress was giggling madly behind her hand.

"If you say one word..." Wanda glared at Tress, lightning sparking in her hands.

"Oh, I'm really scared of what you're going to do..." Tress' eyes were glimmering behind her glasses.

"And by the way, thanks for the birthday wishes." Wanda looked at Derek, apparently not having heard Tress. "Probably one of the few genuine birthday wishes I've had today."

"What do you mean by that?" Stared Derek as he started on the mashed potatoes on his lunch tray.

"Take a look over there... you see them?" Ingrid pointed with her thumb at a group of boys that collaborated at a table to their left, behind her. "Those are a group of boys determined to win her favor and... shall we put it in a way that won't start a water and lightning battle, affections, every day. JUST because she's the daughter of Matt Olson, a famous guitarist in a famous band."

"Yeah... wish I had her problem." Cerella flipped her hair around.

"Oh... rich girl feeling sorry for herself because no boys are shadowing her around?" HuiLing said, patting Cerella on the head.

"You can take them." Said Wanda as she started on her favorite part of the lunch- the fresh snap peas.

"Um Wanda, are you really going to eat those?" Asked Tress.

"They're called snap peas, Tress. They won't kill you. Besides, they're my favorite in any meal." Smiled Wanda as she managed to get three on her plastic fork and eat them. The other girls looked at each other, then ended up dumping their snap peas on to her plate.

"Honestly, if you can stomach the school food, you must have bowels of steel." Cerella sighed.

"Hey, she can handle your cooking, can't she?" Smiled Ingrid, earning a glare from Cerella.

"Such harmony between you guys." Sighed Derek, eating his lunch in a bemused sort of way.

"By the way, Derek, if you're older than us, how is it you're able to be in the same class as us?" Asked HuiLing.

The others blinked at her in surprise.

"What?" She looked at them completely confused.

"Not to often you hear HuiLing ask an intelligent question that's not in a classroom." Cerella commented. "But I'd like to know that too. How is that possible? Mom and Dad didn't even say anything about this to me."

"Well... considering I was technically born on Meridian, Mom and Dad were able to get my birth papers and all that crap filed and legally documented here on Earth for me to be... I guess you would call me your evil twin brother here." Derek said thoughtfully.

"Ok, next question, WHY are you here?" Tress asked.

Derek blinked at the group.

"Well, the Queen wanted someone on Earth from Meridian at all times to keep an eye on you guys. Make sure you're not caught off guard or anything like that." He shrugged. "After all, wouldn't want the last hope of Meridian and Earth to fall in to the wrong hands."

"So no pressure, right?" Smiled Ingrid through a mouthful of salad.

"At least I'm already accustomed to some of Earth's bizarre ways. I like some of the sports here." Derek was looking around.

"Hey, DEREK!" A voice shouted, nearly causing HuiLing to tumble out of her own seat.

It was Stevie, the boy she had a mad crush on.

"Hey, what's up?" Derek waved.

"You going to try out for the basketball game?" Asked Stevie.

Stevie was a tall boy for his age, with blond hair and blue eyes. But he looked like he was full of energy and a good attitude.

"Yeah, I think I might."

"Great, see you at tryouts, hi HuiLing." Stevie waved at HuiLing, causing her face to go scarlet as she started to lift off from her chair. Luckily he had turned away from the table so he did not see Ingrid and Tress grabbing HuiLing by the shirt collar.

"Principal at twelve o'clock!" Cerella whispered.

"Hello girls, I see you've already been introduced to Cerella's brother, Derek." Smiled Principal Knickerbocker.

"Yes, ma'am." Smiled Tress, waving at her.

"Good girls, I expect you to make him feel right at home. I'm surprised I didn't get your brother right from the start, but I hope homeschooling has had a good effect on him than it did on you." The Principal patted Cerella on the head with a smile and laugh while Cerella scowled.

"And what do you mean by that?" Asked Derek curiously. Even Wanda was rather interested by that comment.

"Oh I think she's referring to the incident where Cerel' here blew up the lab room when she put salt in with the wrong beaker." Tress said shamelessly.

"Thanks for the reminder... I got detention and groundation for a month for that." Cerella pouted.

"Ah... THAT's why you were grounded and kept on staying after school last year." Derek nodded knowingly.

"Yes, well, let's just hope that you've learned your lesson and history won't be repeated." The Principal warned, her eyes flashing. "Oh, and happy birthday, Ms. Olson."

"Thanks." Mumbled Wanda as the Principal left their table at last.

Derek noticed how unenthusiastic she was about the coming day.

After school was out, Wanda bade farewell. The next day was Saturday, and she planned on locking herself in her room that day to avoid all the people from her classes on the streets. She got in to her father's car in the backseat, since her mother was with him that day. She waved goodbye to her friends as they drove away.

"So what's with that gloomy expression?" Ingrid inquired as the car drove away.

"Never mind, we've got lots of work to do before tomorrow." Said Cerella at once. "Wanda's mom and dad told me via cell phone that she was just planning on staying in her room tonight, so decorating her living room shouldn't be a problem."

"Why not just celebrate at your house?" Asked HuiLing.

"Um... problem. I'm so much like my Mom that my last party at home was so totally awesome, that she and Dad both said never again there." Replied Cerella, remembering the mess in the living room after her birthday party.

"All right... so, everyone knows what they're doing?" Ingrid said.

"Yup! I'm going home to change in to decoration appropriate clothing, then heading over to Wanda's house. And in the morning we all meet at her place and surprise her as she's coming down for breakfast." Cerella nodded as Cornelia's car came up to the drive.

"I'm going to be busy myself, so I'll talk to you guys later." Derek waved as he got in to the front seat of the car.

Wanda picked up Mimi when she came in to the house, and went to the kitchen.

"There's ice cream in the fridge for you after your dinner." Said Will, taking off her jacket.

"Thanks." Wanda went in to see what was in the oven, and it was her favorite: Lasagna with wine sauce. She put the cat down and grabbed the pan from the oven.

When she went up the stairs, she was greeted by her appliances.

"Good afternoon, Wanda," Ai said from the iHome lamp. "Would you like some relaxing jazz tonight to help you with your homework?"

"Nah, not tonight. I think I'd prefer something loud and obnoxious to bug my parents in to grounding me tomorrow." Wanda flopped face first on to her bed.

"Grounded on your birthday? No way!" Ai refused to play anything for her after that.

"Nice to have the support of your own appliances." Grumbled Wanda as she scratched Mimi's ears again.

"At least try to keep yourself busy, Wanda." Came the voice from her Wii.

"Ugh, fine." Wanda pulled herself up from her bed and turned on her game player, putting in a Mario game and sitting in the chair nearby.

"Enjoy your birthday, Guardian." Ice muttered to herself as she watched Wanda from the tree as she watched Wanda playing on the strange device for entertainment.

Wanda heard a lot of commotion downstairs the next morning when she opened her bedroom door, and Mimi took off down to the living room. She followed her cat, still in her purple nightdress not thinking that there might be company in the living room and kitchen.

"Grandma...? What's going on?" Asked Wanda, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hi, honey." Susan and Dean were at the door that Mimi was trying to claw through.

"What's up? Where's Mom?" She stared, more alert than before.

Susan winked at Dean.

"Go get yourself dressed, the kitchen isn't quite ready for you yet." She said, turning Wanda around by the shoulders and steering her back up the stairs with a pat in the middle of her back.

Wanda stared back at her grandmother with a bemused expression, before walking up the stairs and returning to her room.

"Everything almost ready?" Susan peeked her head in to the living room where Cerella was busy hanging up the last of the purple streamers.

"Yup! Just putting the last minute details up." HuiLing smiled broadly as her mother was busy with YanLin, putting all of Wanda's favorite foods on the main dining table in a buffet style.

"Hey, Will, remember your fifteenth birthday?" Cornelia's smile was broad. "Instead of purple with glittering disco lizards, yours was neon green with frogs everywhere."

"Yeah it's certainly something... like mother like daughter... it's still an amphibian after all..." Matt said offhandedly with a shrug.

"What was that, dear?" Will put emphasis on the last word of her sentence with a sharp look in her red eyes.

"Woah... did that just come out of my mouth?" Matt looked like he wasn't sorry at all even with the abashed expression on his face. "I think I'll go summon the birthday girl." He left rather quickly amid the giggles of HuiLing, Tress, Ingrid and Cerella.

Wanda was now fully dressed in a layered outfit- a lilac long sleeved shirt, with a dark purple tank top over it. She wore dark blue jeans, and tennis shoes. Her cat was sitting on the dresser top, watching her every move with those big sapphire eyes.

Mimi looked at the bedroom window suddenly, growling and hissing loudly.

"Mimi?" Wanda blinked, looking up she saw the face of a woman, cloaked and hooded, staring at her with the exact same eyes as her cat.

"Who are you?" She demanded of the woman, her voice rising over her cat's. It was lucky she already put the Heart of Kandrikor around her neck, hidden under the neckline.

Ice smiled beneath the hood of her cloak, removing it.

"Hello, dear Guardian of Meridian." She said, her voice silky as she faded through the wall of the house, appearing in the room.

Mimi got in between Wanda and Ice.

"WANDA!" Matt called out, as soon as he opened the door and saw his daughter facing the stranger. He stood between Wanda and the woman, a fierce glare of protectiveness in his eyes.

HuiLing blinked, hearing Matt shout like that.

"Say Mom, Dad, can you help YanLin and the others with the decorations?" Asked Will. "I'll take the girls and Derek upstairs to see if Wanda was trying to dismantle her lamp again."

Susan and Dean looked at each other, not sure why that simple task needed the attention of both parents plus all of her friends.

"Come on, the more the merrier down here! Still lots to do!" YanLin grinned, taking Will's hint that there might be trouble on the horizon.

"All right then." Nodded Dean. Will had always been a strange one, so no doubt Wanda was turning out to be like a combination of her parents.

"So, you going to tell us who you are? Or am I going to have to beat the answer out of you?" Matt asked, transforming in to Shegon at once, his giant black wings blocking his daughter and her cat from the woman's view.

"You may call me Ice, I am a servant of the great lord Phobos." Ice raised her hands, and the cloak fell behind her shoulders revealing the pure white clothing she wore underneath the cloak. The robes were so white that it almost dazzled Wanda. The moment that Ice revealed her true form, Wanda heard footsteps at the door again.

"Guys!" She blinked in surprise.

"Hurry, Wanda, transform now!" Will said, noting that everything around the woman who called herself Ice was in fact, turning in to her namesake.

"Right... Guardians Unite! And make it fast!" She shouted, holding out the Heart of Kandrikor.

The five girls reemerged as the Guardians.

At that moment, a sharp pain ran through Wanda's body, starting at her shoulder and moving from there in half a second.

"Not now, she grumbled to herself, grabbing the shoulder as Shegon turned around quickly and caught her before she hit the floor.

"Awe... the little Guardian has not managed to beat back my good friend Rhea's poison?" Smiled Ice.

"You're the one I saw." Derek stared at the woman.

Ice looked at Derek, and returned his smile.

"Unfortunately, I don't have time to play..." Ice directed the palm of her right hand at Shegon, who sent a ray of green light from his eyes at the ice that was shooting at him. Shards of ice went in all directions, ripping up the bed sheets, nicking the lamp, and a few other bits of electrical devices in Wanda's room.

"Hey, watch it!" Protested Ai, and the television. "I WOULD like to play my music selection for Wanda again while she's resting later, ya know?"

"Sorry." Muttered Shegon.

"Man that gets old..." Ingrid looked at the iPod.

"And fast, believe me." Nodded Will.

"This won't do at all for a battlefield." Smiled Ice. "We need some place more... spacious."

"How are we supposed to have a fair battle with one Guardian down?" Asked Tress.

Ice raised her left hand, this time forming what looked like a peace symbol with her fingers before directing her palm flat at the group.

It happened in a flash of blinding white light, and they reappeared at...

"Shell Beach?" Blinked Cerella, looking around.

"I thought this is much more suited to our way of fighting... everything we need here, after all." Ice looked at the group.

"And no one can disturb us... Not even our parents." Ingrid noted that Matt and Will were not with them now. Wanda was kneeling on the ground, holding her shoulder tightly with her left hand as she fought to gain control of the pain.

HuiLing bent down to Wanda's side and put a comforting arm around her.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." Wanda stood up once the pain was gone, which surprisingly took a short amount of time.

"Enough..." Ice raised the palm of her right hand at the Guardians, who took to the air at once seeing the pillar of ice shooting towards them half a second later.

When Wanda looked down to make sure the pillar of ice wasn't following her, however, her eyes went wide. The pillar was shooting up directly at her.

"Want to play follow the leader, huh?" She grumbled, taking a sharp right in the air.

"Why is that witch only going after Wanda?" Asked Cerella.

"It's obvious, isn't it? It's because Wanda has the Heart of Kandrikor!" Exclaimed Tress.

"Ok, Ice, you want to play it cool, don't you?" Ingrid smiled, she placed both palms of her hands together in a clap, but kept her hands together as water poured from them right at the pillar that was catching up with Wanda despite her maneuvers in the air to avoid it. "Well, how bout a dip? HuiLing, now!"

HuiLing nodded and sent the cold air at Ingrid's own pillar of water as it made contact with the pillar of ice right as it made a sharp left after Wanda.

"You think that's the only trick I have up my sleeves, Guardians?" Asked Ice with a sneer when the pillar of ice she was sending to chase after Wanda came under her enemies' control and shot back at her.

Ice brought up her second hand once Wanda had stopped trying to escape, and from the ground erupted a wall of ice.

"Not good!" Wanda reacted fast, balling her hands in to fists and sending her own wall of lightning to counter attack.

The shards snapped and cracked as they shot in every direction as a result.

"Smooth move." Cerella smiled.

"Not so smooth, look!" Tress shouted as the shards hovered in mid air around Wanda, and started to grow in to one giant pillar from the ground up. Tress flew over, and sent a wave of fire at the ice, but it had no effect after a good five minutes. Wanda was already flying higher than the others as the ice grew.

Suddenly she couldn't fly anymore, and looked down. Ice covered her feet, and it was reaching up around her legs.

"Guys, a little help!" She called out as the others flew over to try anything they could to pull her out. HuiLing grabbed Wanda's hands and yanked hard, but Wanda wouldn't budge. Cerella directed the palm of her hands at the ground, roots thick as school buses broke free from the earth, wrapping around the pillar of ice, trying to break it free with the sharp thorns. But the ice only seemed to get stronger.

"How bout a hot water bath?" Ingrid suggested, looking at Tress, who nodded. "You might want to hold your breath for this one."

The ice was now up to Wanda's waist as Ingrid and Tress sent fire mixed in with water at the pillar.

"Don't you think Phobos will love his gift from me?" Ice laughed as the pillar grew slowly to consume Wanda's body. "It's so... tasteful."  
>"Sorry, but you are so behind the times when it comes to gift giving." Cerella sent a rolling earthquake to send Ice falling to the ground as she noticed Derek running at the pillar from the ground, his sword raised and ready to strike just as the ice started to climb over Wanda's shoulders.<p>

"Maybe this will help..." Derek stabbed the ice with his sword. He heard the cracking and snapping as it dug in to the pillar, but for several moments, nothing seemed to happen except for the ice starting to cover Wanda's head.

"There's nothing you can do now, boy. My ice is indestructible. It is stronger than diamonds and can re-grow itself faster than a lizard re-grows its tail." She laughed maniacally.

Wanda struggled to move, she couldn't breathe. She couldn't even close her eyes as she saw her friends trying to attack the pillar with everything they had without hurting her. She could hear Derek's sword hacking away at the ice despite what Ice said, but that was the only thing she could decipher. 'What do I do,' she wondered. 'I only have power over lightning and making electrical devices annoy the crap out of me. My heart's slowing,' she realized. Soon she really would die, without the wound on her shoulder or the poison within it giving any aid to the situation. But she was the Guardian's leader, she had to have more power than this.

HuiLing flew right up to the pillar, she could feel her friend struggling to survive long enough for them to get her out.

"Oooooh... I can't take this anymore!" She exclaimed, stomping her foot in midair.

'Wanda, you've got to hang on. We're trying to figure something out!' Tress sent to Wanda's mind using her power over telepathy.

'Take your time, guys. I'm only dying a slow, cold death here.' Retorted a very annoyed Wanda when she heard Tress' attempt at reassurance. 'Wait a minute... here! That's it...'

"WHAT?" Tress exclaimed suddenly when Wanda stopped responding.

"What's going on up there?" Derek demanded. "Why aren't you guys doing anything?"

Suddenly the answer was quite plain. Lightning started cracking around the pillar at random intervals as a red light started forming around Wanda inside the ice.

"What? NO!" Shrieked Ice when she realized that Wanda had found a way to fight back before she herself could find a way to get her to Meridian.

Soon the red light and lightning from Wanda's element made the pillar of ice glimmer with the amount of energy she was putting in to the attack.

"Disco effect, nice." Ingrid smiled.

"That's a new one." Will and Matt- who was still in his Shegon form and carrying Will while he flew- had finally reached Shell Beach, and Will stared up at her daughter, frozen in the pillar of ice but obviously fighting back.

"Anyone care to fill us in?" Matt asked as he set Will down.

"No time for that, Regent!" Ice shouted, seeing Wanda's father return to join the fight, she sent two pillars of ice at Shegon, who returned fire with his green energy blast from his eyes.

Wanda saw what was happening in dismay. 'Dad!' she thought.

There was a sudden explosion of red light and white lightning from the pillar where Wanda had been frozen moments later. The force of the explosion sent the other four gardens flying in the opposite direction, as a white light consumed them all seconds later. She felt a pair of strong hands catch as she fell and nearly hit the ground. She could not remember anything after that.

Cerella let out a screech of rage as she landed in to a lake full of mud and sea weed.

"That girl is SO lucky it's her birthday!" She said as she picked seaweed out of her hair.

"Yeah, we don't need a murder at least until tomorrow." Ingrid agreed.

"Is everyone ok?" Asked Matt, now back in his human form, and helping HuiLing from a patch of rocks.

"I'm just glad my wings helped slow my fall." HuiLing rubbed her back. "What happened?" She asked as Will stood up, her hair looking like it was plastered to her face with bits of seaweed and mud stuck in it.

"Ugh... you mean apart from us landing in a disgusting swamp land?" Tress was wiping mud off of her arms.

"It looks like Wanda made a portal... but more than one when she had that surge of power so suddenly." Will tried to explain as she wrung the water out of her hair. "We made it all right, but it looks like she and Derek are missing." She looked at the group. "But at least we can safely say she still has the Heart, otherwise you wouldn't have had your wings to break your fall... for the most part." She chuckled, seeing Cerella's plainly pissed off attitude.

"Well, as soon as we find her, if Phobos hasn't managed to kill her by then, I will. It's going to take at least a week to wash the stench off of me!" Cerella exclaimed.

"Um, Cerel', drama queen much?" Ingrid poked Cerella.

"Oh, hah hah, you can laugh being the Guardian of water has nothing on you apparently." Cerella flipped her muddy and sea weed infested hair at Ingrid, who took a face full and coughed.

"Ok, that's it!" Ingrid said, balling her right hand in to a fist and dropping a sphere of swamp water over Cerella, who let out another shriek of rage.

"Enough you guys! This is no time for a water fight or damaging each other's egos!" Said Will.

"Yeah, you can always do that at school or during summer vacation." Matt put in.

"Let's just get out of the swamp, and see if we can't locate Wanda and Derek somehow. At least he knows Meridian's landscapes, so if we're lucky and she's with him, they should find their way." Will went on after giving Matt a look that shut him up rather quickly.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Cerella huffed, standing up again at once and moving towards the nearest patch of land.

It had taken Derek a few moments to gain his bearings, but soon he knew exactly where he was. He was amazed that he'd managed to catch Wanda before that white light consumed him- and apparently Mimi. Even more amazed when he realized he was on Meridian. He wondered where the others were, but with an unconscious Guardian of Meridian in his arms, he had no choice but to find shelter and let her rest to regain her strength. He quickly found an empty cave, then laid her against the wall next to a large bowlder, hiding her from sight in case any enemies came looking for them. He watched as Mimi walked over to Wanda instead of wandering off, then climbed in to her lap and curled up in to a ball before falling asleep herself.

Derek looked at Wanda's sleeping form for a long time, trying to figure out how she managed to free herself, then transport them to Meridian in all of that confusion. He heard outside a clap of thunder, and looked outside just in time to see rain starting to pour down on the swampland.

"Great... nature just had to make it harder for me to listen for enemies." He grumbled as Mimi started with a high pitched yowl that apparently woke Wanda up.

She blinked several times as everything came in to focus.

"Hey, sleepy head." Derek couldn't help but smile down at her dazed and confused expression as she sat up, picking Mimi off her lap and cradling the cat in her arms.

"Derek? What are you... what are we doing here?" She blinked, looking up at him, standing up slowly. "And why did Mimi come too?"

Derek's smile turned in to a frown as he thought.

"I'm not sure what exactly happened, but you apparently experienced some kind of power overload, sent us here to Meridian, and now we're stuck here at least until the rain clears and we can find our way to the castle." He said as Wanda looked out at the rain that blocked everything ten feet or more beyond their cave from view.

"How in the world did I do this?" She wondered aloud as her cat gave another loud meow at her when she had stopped stroking her fur.

Derek walked up to her by the right side with a shrug.

"Not a clue." He said rather bluntly when she looked up at him, the confusion and sense of feeling so lost quite plain in her red eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 **

**To Find one Another **

Derek looked out at the storm raging outside the cave then sighed. He looked over at Wanda, who was staring out of the cave into the rain despite the fact that she couldn't see anything beyond ten feet in front of them.

"Everything will be fine, Wanda." He said, the worry and fear quite plain in her eyes and face as she stroked the fur on her cat. He removed his jacket, knowing it had to be cold for her, not being used to Meridian's weather. He put the jacket around Wanda's shoulders and she looked up at him in mild surprise.

She tugged the jacket around her tighter with her free hand.

"Listen, Wanda... There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time, but could never find the right moment." Derek looked at her. Finally they were alone, without any of her friends or their parents butting in. He was quiet for several moments, he blinked when he realized she was staring at him curiously, worry and doubt still apparent on her face. He sighed. "You're the heart of W.I.T.C.H., Wanda, everything's going to be fine. I've seen you go from being my sister's friend, to a strong and powerful leader, and Heart of the Guardians." He paused, looking down at her before continuing. "I've been watching you for a long time...And, I think... I think I love you, Wanda." He watched her closely, observing her for any signs of rejection or that she didn't return his feelings.

She stared up at him in surprise. And to his dismay, she turned her back to him.

"You think?" She said. "Not because I'm the daughter of a famous musician, the former leader of the Guardians, and the current leader of W.I.T.C.H., thus the keeper of the Heart of Kandrikor. That wouldn't be a good catch for someone if they knew all of that." She finished her statement as Mimi let out a meow when a clap of thunder nearly made her jump.

"Well, I'm sure I don't think I love you because you aren't cute, funny, and loyal to your friends. This is the first time I've felt like this and I don't appreciate being mocked for confessing how I feel about you." He said, his temper firing up. She was the most infuriating girl he'd ever met.

Wanda couldn't help but smile at his reaction to her statements. Luckily he didn't see that. She turned to glance at him. He blinked when he saw the twinkle in her eyes.

"Well, I think I love you too... I'm sorry, I had to make sure of something." She turned around to face him now. "Even on Earth, just being the daughter of a famous guitarist, I'm hearing people all the time trying to ask me to that dance next month or get me to be an arm trophy"

Derek blinked at her, seeing her logic in why she put him through that. Act like she was going to break his heart then throw him a curve ball. He put his hands on her shoulders, and she looked up at him.

"You don't think I deal with that here on Meridian? My Mom is the former Guardian of Earth, and my Dad was the leader of the Rebellion that helped free Meridian from Phobos way back when. I understand where you're coming from, believe me. But don't you think that someone who loves you would tell you what you need to hear, not sugar coated words that they want you to believe? Besides, I wouldn't put up with you if I didn't love you." He smiled down at her, no longer angry but still miffed at how she handled the situation.

Wanda smiled up at him.

"I'm sorry about all that." She said again.

"No need to apologize... Just tell me you'll never put me through that roller coaster again and we'll call it good." He smiled down at her.

"That would just be too easy..." She blinked with a mischievous grin.

He blinked in surprise when she kissed him on the cheek but smiled when she pulled back.

"How's that instead?" She asked.

He coughed before smiling at her. "That works."

Wanda smiled at his reaction and looked down at Mimi when she hissed again at another clap of thunder.

"I don't think she likes storms." She giggled, suddenly feeling more relaxed now with him than she had in the past.

Cerella frowned. The group had just started walking when the storm caught them by surprise.

"Ingrid, can't you do something? You're water!" She exclaimed.

"No, I love to see you suffer, Cerel'." Smirked Ingrid.

"Can we please try and get along?" Asked Matt half-heartedly.

"Ugh... FINE. I'll make a shelter." Cerella glared at Ingrid who was grinning again.

She bent down to the ground, the rain pouring down on them making her hair like a golden dripping wet sheet over her shoulders as she placed her hands on the earth. From the ground rose a large chunk of rock and muddy earth. She raised her right hand and clenched it in to a fist to form a cave.

"There... happy?" She said with a frown, walking in first before starting the task of ringing her hair dry.

Ingrid and Tress looked at each other with raised eyebrows before following Cerella in to the makeshift cave.

Ice blinked, looking around when the light faded. She let out a shriek of rage when she realized that her target was vanished completely from sight.

"Botched your mission?" Rhea's voice came from behind. "You were supposed to bring the leader of the Guardians to Phobos so he could take the Heart of Kandrikor from her."

"Nobody asked you, you little whelp." Ice glared as she spun around.

"It seems even your little sister has betrayed our Lord." Rhea's eyes gleamed as she was attempting to spark Ice's temper.

"No... my sister would never betray Master Phobos." Ice's eyes were slits while observing Rhea. "She knows what is at stake for us should she fail or betray in her mission."

"You do still have time to find the leader of the Guardians, to rectify your mistake." Rhea's eyes were slits as she smirked beneath her mask.

"And what about you failing to attack the Guardian of Earth, when you had ample opportunity?" Spat Ice.

"I'm just waiting for the perfect moment that's befitting both me and her. I still have to pay her back for the damage from our first encounter." She replied cooly. "Nothing beats being as dramatic as possible with the drama queen of the group."

Ice frowned.

"I'm going to go back to Meridian to tail the Heart. You should remember where your loyalties lie and remember the mission the Master put to you, not what you put on yourself." She retorted.

Mimiru meowed again, and ran behind the rock in the cave that Wanda and Derek were stuck in.

"Hey! You gotta stay with me, Mimi..." Wanda chased after the cat, not wanting to be separated from her as she had been with her friends. It turned out the cat was huddled in a corner between the cave wall and the large rock that jutted out.

"It's probably better we stay here for a while. Just because we can't see out, doesn't mean that the enemy can't see in." He sat down on the ground, and after she grabbed her cat, she sat down as well, leaning against the wall. "Feeling all right?" He asked her after a long silence.

"Oh yes, nothing beats sitting on the floor that's as soft and comfortable as granite." She retorted, looking in the direction of the cave entrance and wondering when the storm was ever going to let up.

"Then perhaps we could change things up for you." Ice's voice came from the outside of the cave, sounding slightly muffled by the rain.

Derek stood up, and saw Ice walking to the cave, her head hooded to keep herself dry from the rain. He unsheathed his sword as Wanda stood beside him, her cat still in her arms.

"Not much space to move around." Ice muttered with a smile. "And this time I'm smarter at how to handle you." She looked at Wanda, who braced herself.

She watched Ice as the woman raised both of her hands, the palms facing directly at the two standing before her.

"Now, sister, decide where your loyalty lies." She muttered as she sent two foot inch thick pillars of ice at Derek and Wanda.

Derek brought up his sword while Wanda balanced Mimiru in one arm and brought up her left hand, sending lightning right at the oncoming pillar. But it had no effect. Derek used his sword to keep the ice that attacked him from piercing his heart, the force of the attack sending him flying backwards from the force of the blow. Wanda's lightning had no effect and the pillar of ice kept on coming towards her at full speed.

"Wanda!" Shouted Derek in alarm as the pillar of ice that forced him back formed a transparent wall. He could see what was happening, but not do anything about it. Not that he didn't try. He rammed his shoulder against the wall of ice until his shoulder ached.

"Now it's just you and me..." Ice stepped in to the cave as Wanda looked back at Derek.

Wanda was stuck, if she went outside, she could use her lightning power, but she'd risk hurting her friends and parents since she didn't know where they were at. Even here, if she used her power too much the cave could collapse on top of them. She doubted whether the Heart of Kandrikor could create a shield to protect against a cave collapse. She took a few steps back as Ice advanced on her, her blazing blue eyes narrowing in her smile.

* * *  
>"Well, this is fun." Tress yawned and stretched, looking out<p>

"At least my hair is finally dry." Cerella grumbled as she pulled the last of the sea weed from the swamp out.

Will looked over at HuiLing, who was not her usual cheerful self. Normally she'd be trying to make people laugh or encouraging Ingrid in her jokes and sarcasm. But right now, she was staring fixedly out the cave as though listening for something through the rain and storms.

Cerella looked up at HuiLing as well, and stood up. Even she had limits on people's behavior changes.

"Hey, everything's going to be ok, HuiLing... You'll see. We just gotta wait out this storm." She put a comforting hand on her friends' shoulder.

"Will you be quiet, please? I'm trying to find out what direction that Wanda and Derek are in for when the storm lets up!" HuiLing burst out in frustration that wasn't normally like her.

She listened hard, craning her hearing, shutting out the sound of the rain, thunder and cracks of lightning as she closed her eyes. Finally, she heard something. The cry of a cat.

"I know which way they are!" She exclaimed, causing Cerella to jump back in surprise when she burst out.

"Come again?" Blinked Ingrid, who had been sitting next to a fire started by Tress earlier.

"I've been trying to use my powers over air to locate Wanda and Derek through the sound waves... and apparently Mimiru is with them too! That's how I found them... Mimiru doesn't like storms like this even on Earth, and was meowing something fierce..." HuiLing said all of this very fast.

"Ok... anyone else understand hyperactivity talk?" Blinked Tress.

"She used the sound waves in the air to locate my daughter and Derek thanks to her cat." Replied Will.

"Ah... That makes more sense." Ingrid smirked.

"So, all we have to do is wait out the storm and hope they stay in one spot for us to find them and get back to Earth before our families notice we're not on the planet anymore." HuiLing said happily.

Wanda had been knocked to the ground and was a crumpled heap as she looked up at the approaching attacker.

"And now... the finishing touch..." Ice brought up her right hand and directed the palm of her hand at Wanda as she got to her knees.

"No... WANDA!" Derek shouted, now attacking the wall that separated him from being able to help Wanda with his sword.

Wanda brought up her arms to keep the onslaught of ice from touching her face, but it never reached her. She blinked, staring at the figure that now stood before her.

"YOU..." Ice glared at the woman. "Mimiru..."

"Ice." The woman retorted. She was the same height as Ice, but there was something softer about her. She had shoulder length white hair and sapphire blue eyes like Wanda's cat.

"No way... a shape shifter?" Blinked Derek.

Mimiru wore a black cloak, and blue and gold Meridian robes. Her hair was white, and shoulder length. It looked almost unnaturally straight. Around her neck was the collar that Wanda had given her, pink with a gold name tag. She directed the palm of her hand at the wall, and it shattered when the sound of a sonic boom echoed around the cave causing the ground to shake.

Derek went straight to Wanda, who was staring up at the woman in shock.

"My little sister... how dare you betray Master Phobos!" Shrieked Ice.

"S-Sister?" Wanda stood up when Derek offered her his hand and she took it.

"I was placed weeks ago in your house... don't you remember?" Mimiru looked back. "I telepathically gave you my name and you chose it for my cat form as well. I was sent as a spy from Phobos... but now... I won't let him harm you." She glared at Ice.

"A shape shifter with telepathic ability, and powers of an unknown source?" Derek stared at the woman.

"I'm on your side now..." Mimiru smiled, and Wanda stared, still not sure if she could trust this person.

"Enough! You Guardians are corrupting my allies left and right... first Fusagu... now my own sister...!" Ice shrieked, raising her arms to reveal her white clothing underneath as the rain finally stopped falling outside.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you.. how did you get our Dads to forget what happened with the kidnapping and all that when we first became Guardians?" Tress asked, while the rain was still falling.

This caught the others' attentions.

"We had Queen Elyon help with that. Since the Oracle's didn't have that kind of power. She helped erase your Father's memories of what happened. So it's as if nothing's happened." Smiled Will.

Matt was looking ahead out of the cave.

"Something wrong?" Asked Ingrid, noticing his expression.

"Something's not sitting right... I've got a bad feeling." He replied.

"You think Wanda's in trouble?" HuiLing said at once.

"Well, if anything's happening, I'm sure she's in good hands. She's strong." Will smiled.

"Look... it's stopping." Ingrid stood up from the fire and walking out of the cave as the rain trickled to a slow stop.

"Finally, let's get going, I know exactly where they're at." HuiLing bounded in to the air.

"Right..." Matt said before transforming in to Shegon.

"Lead the way, HuiLing." Smiled Will as the other three took to the air. She was picked up by Shegon before the group started flying after HuiLing, who had a rare look of serious concentration on her face as she looked ahead.

Wanda was thrown backward as a spear of ice broke through her lightning. Her back slammed in to the cave wall hard while Mimiru balled her hands in to fists and ran at her sister. She swung her fists many times as an expert would but she missed as Ice dodged the attacks. The sound of the wind and force behind Mimiru's attacks were like strong gusts of wind.

Ice let out a howl of laughter when she got out of her sisters' reach. Mimiru was staring at Ice with narrowed blue eyes that seemed out of character for her.

"I'd really love to enjoy this reunion, but I have no time to deal with traitors or prey." Said Ice, bringing up a hand to wipe off the sweat forming on her face with the back of her hand. She stepped backwards out of the cave. "It's time to end this!"

Wanda blinked, rising to her feet a little weakened from the blow to her back. She stared when Derek stood in front of her with his sword drawn. She then got an idea. Her lightning power alone didn't stop the ice that came from their opponent, but maybe...

She walked up to his side and he looked at her with a quizzical expression wondering what she was thinking. Then she grabbed the blade of his sword, closing her eyes.

"Lightning."

He heard her mutter. She didn't have much left in her at this point, she could feel her shoulder starting to ache after that collision with the cave wall. The sword then sparked to life when it became embowed with the power of lightning. She hated the poison in her shoulder that still limited her time in battle, it made her feel considerably insignificant compared to the others even with her power of Quintessence and Lightning.

"I owe you one..." Derek told her with a smirk as Wanda stepped back. At least unless she got angry or upset, she knew when she shouldn't push herself.

Wanda remembered that in her video games that lightning was also the counterattack for ice but even with her improvements in battle skills, her own power wasn't enough to make any real damage on their enemy she noticed.

Derek barely had a chance to glimpse the expression on Wanda's face before Ice sent an attack right at her. He got between her and the spears of ice aimed at them, bringing up his sword to block all that he could. This time he felt like he was finally making an impact, until balls of fire came from the cave entrance, aiming right at the spears of ice, engulfing those he hadn't managed to block, and melting them. The now melted balls of ice hit the cave floor with several splatters.

"How about a little heat in this cave?" Asked Tress when the group had finally reached the spot where Wanda and Derek had been fighting.

"Hey! Glad you're still alive!" HuiLing grinned, waving at Wanda.

"Glad you have so much faith in me." Grumbled Wanda, barely audible. A small part of her was not actually happy to see the others, which surprised even her when normally she'd have been just as exited as anyone to get rescued.

Ice glared at the arrivals. Not what she had intended on so soon. Darn rain stopping, she thought. She would have to come back another time. She looked at Wanda.

"I know when I may have... miscalculated. We WILL meet again, Guardian." She looked at the leader before vanishing in a haze of white light.

"Awe... We didn't even get to have any real fun." HuiLing landed on the ground looking disappointed.

"Are you ok?" Shegon and Will went straight to their daughter, noticing the look in her eyes.

Wanda blinked, then nodded with a smile that was more like herself as the lightning on Derek's sword vanished and he sheathed it, walking over to her side.

"Hey... why is he standing closer to you than normal and you aren't threatening to rip his arms off?" Blinked Ingrid.

Wanda gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head. Then, when comprehension dawned, Cerella's jaw opened.

"You're kidding... after all this time?" She said, looking aghast while a pink tinge appeared on Wanda's cheeks and Derek looked completely shameless. "Ugh... I can't believe she of all people beat me!"  
>"About time!" Smiled Tress.<p>

"You can tell us the goods when we get back... but for now, I'm tired of the swamp smell. Can we get home please?" Asked HuiLing, positively bouncing in her excitement.

"One fold to Heatherfield coming up." Smiled Wanda, glad for a change in subject. She did the swiping motion with the Heart of Kandrikor, and a portal was opened.

"At least you're better at that than your mother was... she once folded us on to the school rooftop." Said Shegon before transforming back in to his human form.

They appeared inside Wanda's bedroom.

Surprisingly it had only been an hour since they left.

"Wow, feels like a lot longer than that." Blinked Tress, looking at the clock. There was a flash of red light, and the girls returned to their human forms.

"All right, girly, no getting out of this birthday thing now." HuiLing stared determinedly at Wanda. "We spent all night and day getting things ready."

Mimiru suddenly blinked, and turned back in to her cat form.

"So... Mimiru is a shape shifter?" Said Will unsuredly.

"It's ok Mom, she's on our side. She helped us fight back against Ice, her own sister." Wanda said quickly.

"Everything going ok in here?" Dean poked his head in to the room after knocking.

"She's just being more difficult than normal is all." Cerella smiled elegantly.

"Um... what's with the sword?" Blinked Dean, looking at Derek.

"Oh this?" Derek didn't know how to get out of this one. He normally left his sword at home or on Meridian.

"It was part of a school project related to medieval weaponry." Cerella butted in quickly.

"I must have missed the memo... oh well, everything's set now. Come on down." Dean said thoughtfully before turning around and leaving the group.

Ingrid and HuiLing grabbed Wanda by the arm when she looked like she was about to try and make a run for it, then frog marched her down the stairs.

"I'd better get a good reaction, busted my butt with the décor just for you." Cerella said dangerously when they reached the doors to the living room.

Cerella opened the door, and she certainly got a reaction that was worth all the hours she spent decorating the living room. Wanda was met with a blast of noise as people shouted 'happy birthday' at her when she was thrown in to the living room that was now decorated with purple streamers of different shades, and glittering geckos everywhere.

"Time for dinner and getting some of that cake!" Tress said excitedly.

"You guys did all this?" She looked at the feast that included all of Wanda's favorite, from Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork, to stir fry with Chinese noodles, large prawns fried in a bread batter, pans full of fresh vegetables, and her favorite sweet doughnuts from a near by bakery.

"That and then some. Now, we're grabbing food and you're telling us what happened in that cave for you to finally decide that Derek's a good guy." Cerella threatened.

And true enough, once everyone got their chosen food on their plates and settled in, the four girls would not leave Wanda and Derek alone until Derek had told the whole story of what happened.

"Ah, so all you had to do was corner the girl." Smirked HuiLing as Wanda took a particularly big bite of her fried prawns at the end of the story.

Soon it was time for cake and presents. Wanda's favorite kind of cake had always been a chocolate vanilla swirl, which she shamelessly took a large bite out of. She got several new skirts and tops from Cerella, three new movies from Tress, new music CDs from Ingrid, a new series of seven books from HuiLing with the movies and soundtracks to them. From her mother and father she got a new cell phone with interchangeable covers. From her grandparents, she got an Afghan that was made from all the shades of purple, blue, and light green that she loved. She ended up getting a lot of birthday money from her aunts and uncles in the cards.

"There's one more thing coming up, but you'll have to wait for Spring Break to get it. It's from your Dad and I." Will smiled down at Wanda as she put all of her money in a new wallet she found in Cerella's gifts for her.

"What?" Asked Wanda excitedly. Even with her dislike of big parties, she couldn't help but enjoy this one.

"You, all of your friends and Derek are going on a two week vacation to Florida to see all of the sights, and spend the first week at Disney World." Will had been clearly eager to dispel this news.

"What?" Exclaimed Wanda, blinking in a mixture of excitement and disbelief.

"Sweet!" HuiLing practically shouted.

"Yup. Us adults have been planning this for weeks and figured what better way to announce it than as a birthday present." Smiled Matt, reaching down and ruffling his daughter's hair.

"Thank you, Mom, Dad!" Wanda flung forward and wrapped both of her parents in a tight hug.

"I take it you like our gift then. Just wait until you actually go there... we've never been there ourselves... so this will be fun for all of us." Smiled Will, straightening out her daughter's hair with her hands as Wanda pulled away from the hug.

Derek managed to pull Wanda away from the group as they began talking with each other again, now about making plans for what to do on the upcoming vacation to Florida in a few weeks.

"I know it may not seem like much, but I got this for you." He said, holding up what looked like a small bag wrapped in metallic purple wrapping paper.

Wanda opened it, and smiled at the gift. It was a ribbon that looked like it was made from silk. It was the same color of pink as her Guardian outfit.

"From the finest Meridian silk worms, and the toughest at that so it won't break or get damaged." Derek picked it up. "I noticed how you're always fighting with your hair, so I thought this would help."

Wanda felt her face burning like the sun when he bent over and tied the strands of her hair that hung over her shoulders with the ribbon in a simple bow.

"Hey, Derek, time to get going!" Cornelia called from the group.

"Coming!" Derek shouted back, feeling slightly miffed. He leaned down again, lightly brushing his lips to Wanda's cheek before leaving with his family.

That left Wanda staring after him, her face bright pink in embarrassment and surprise.

"Hey, love bird." HuiLing startled Wanda by popping up seemingly out of nowhere.

"Seriously, you zone out better than my Mom with that reaction." Cerella was smirking, for Wanda had let out a yell and nearly fell over.

"Well..." Wanda couldn't really think of a better counterattack for Cerella.

"See you later birthday girl!" Cerella waved when her mother gave an impatient shout through the door.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: **

**The Looming Shadow**

"So... This cat... she's a shape shifter?" Blinked Tress.

It was after school on Monday, and the group was gathered at the park, with Mimiru sitting contentedly on Wanda's lap.

"Yeah, she saved both of our lives when Ice was about to finish us off." Derek nodded.

"No way..." Cerella bent over, looking at the innocent cat. Her blond hair was held back by a blue headband today, and she wore a periwinkle blue blouse , and a light blue skirt. Her shoes were periwinkle blue as well.

Wanda wore a dark blue t-shirt with her blue jean coveralls, and white tennis shoes. Her brown hair was tied back using the ribbon she'd gotten from Derek, in a half-pony tail, like one of her favorite characters. Derek wore a black shirt, brown pants, shoes, and his brown jacket. Ingrid wore a blue striped shirt that cut off at the shoulders, blue jeans, a blue jean jacket tied around her waist, and white tennis shoes. Tress had her black hair held back with red orange hair clips, and wore a yellow shirt, with an orange tank top over it, and an orange skirt that had yellow triangles patterned at the bottom of the skirt. Her shoes were yellow as well. HuiLing wore a vibrant red Chinese shirt with short sleeves and golden dragon lily patterned all over, and black pants and shoes.

Mimiru looked up at the group with a quizzical expression on her face.

"This cat really transforms in to a human being?" Ingrid knelt down, scratching the back of the cats' ears.

"No, I talk just for getting kicks out of scaring the crap out of you guys." Mimiru spoke, tired of being treated like an object.

Ingrid yelled and jumped back. Mimiru stared at her, bemused. The cat jumped down from Wanda's lap, and as she did so transformed in to her human form. Her hair seemed to waft a little in the breeze as she took form. After looking at all their outfits, and the outfits of passerby, there was a flash of white light around her body, with the clothes from Meridian melting away to reveal a pink tank-top over a white t-shirt, a pink knee length skirt, and white dress shoes.

"Well, I wish I knew that trick." Cerella blinked in surprise

Mimiru smiled at Cerella, and that simple action seemed to relax the others.

"Hey guys!" Fusagu came over to the group, wearing a t-shirt that had 'Mecha Wing' printed on it with the characters, and blue jean shorts, as well as tennis shoes.

"Fusagu?" Blinked Mimiru in surprise. "I'd heard rumors that you had sided with the Guardians as well... but didn't know if they were true."

Fusagu stared at Mimiru with narrow eyes for a long moment before apparently deciding she could be trusted.

"Yes. I didn't like how Phobos was running things. And I wanted to find my parents." He told her.

"Any luck yet?" Asked Mimiru with saddened eyes.

"Not yet, but the Queen is helping me and we've got it narrowed down to a couple of villages." He replied, though he still kept his distance from her.

"I'm bored..." HuiLing stretched, standing up.

"I could always make you girls do some more training." Derek said offhandedly.

"Nah... I know! Let's go see the new Guardian Moon Eternal movie! It's in theaters!" Cerella jumped up suddenly.

Derek looked like he would rather do something else, but sighed.

"All in favor of going to the movies?" Tress raised her hand, she was then followed by Cerella, Ingrid, HuiLing and Wanda. "Out-voted, Derek. Besides, we're all done with our homework, even Wanda. So let's get going."

"Big brother's just going to have to swallow his pride and watch a girly movie." Cerella smirked.

"Nah, there's a new Galaxy Wars movie out that I'm going to see that's not girly at all." He stood up, stretching. "At least this is one pass time that beats tossing a pigskin around."

Wanda almost looked pouty when she heard there was also a new Galaxy Wars movie that had been released.

"Well, which would you rather have?" Asked HuiLing.

"Moon Guardian!" She replied almost at once. "I can watch Galaxy Wars another time... "There's never been a Guardian Moon movie released in theaters before."

"All right, my treat then!" Cerella smiled, holding up her purse. "I got my allowance from my Mom yesterday."

"Great!" HuiLing was practically bouncing on the spot in her excitement.

"Well, I'm heading back to the house, your mother should be there." Said Mimiru, transforming back in to her cat form. "And you left the window open, right?" She looked at Wanda, who nodded.

"See you later!" The group parted, Fusagu deciding to walk Mimiru home.

Derek hung back away from the girls as they walked, singing the Guardian Moon theme songs in their anticipation.

"Wow... look at this line!" Tress had her hand over her eyes to block out the sun as she stood on tip toe to look at the people.

"Girls..." Groaned Derek as they reached the ticket booth.

"Five for Guardian Moon Eternal: The Movie please!" Cerella said.

"Can I see your ID please?" The cashier asked, and when he saw Cerella's ID, he gave her the tickets, and she in turn passed one each to the group.

"One for Galaxy Wars: Young Future Knights." Derek said, paying the cashier for his ticket. "See you girls later." He said with a wave.

When the girls got their sodas and popcorn, they went in to the theater and sat down in the middle row, in the center. Wanda sat at the center of the group with HuiLing on her right, Cerella on her left, Tress on HuiLing's right and Ingrid on Cerella's left. The theater was full of a bunch of girls their age, as well as some adult women who enjoyed the show when it was aired on Television from their childhood also. With a few boys and men who had been dragged along by their girlfriends or siblings. The excitement was like that for a Harry Potter release when the minutes ticked by for the trailers to start. And when the title screen for the movie appeared, a hush fell over the crowd after loud cheers and whoops.

It was an enjoyable crowd, laughing as Bunny made a fool of herself in front of the Star Lights, booing when the enemy appeared, capturing and killing all of her friends except for Minako, Princess Kakyuu, gasping when the Princess and Minako protected Eternal Guardian Moon to their deaths. A hush again came over the group in the theater as they watched Eternal Guardian Moon shrouded in grief move to face the enemy, a demon by the name of Dalibor. Many were surprised- Wanda and her friends included- by the battle song. A song by a group known as Truth, and their song 'Never Give In' as Eternal Guardian Moon fought Dalibor, turning in to her Neo Queen Selene form with her extended, full length staff and the Mystical White Crystal in its flower form. The battle itself lasted for the duration of the song. Wanda found herself crying as Selene remembered her friends, and Mamoru when it looked like Dalibor would win. Wanda blinked when Selene's wings unfolded as her power reached the maximum, finally sealing away Dalibor with a brilliant flash of silver-white light from the Mystical White Crystal at the end of the song.

Wanda could hear HuiLing sniffling as Selene used the last of her power to summon the Star Crystals of her friends to revive them, before she passed out from the power overload. The Guardian Senshi gathered around Serenity while Endymion held her in his arms at the center of the large group, and used their own power through clasped hands to revive her. Finally the ending of the movie came when Bunny was brought back to life, and they returned back to Crossroads with Mamoru and their friends. The credits came on to loud cheers and whoops.

As the groups of people filed out of the theater from their various rooms, Wanda and her friends were busy talking about the movie they'd just seen as Derek found them after his movie was done. He held back a few paces as they walked in the streets and gabbed.

"I cried when Mars died!" Tress said.

"I know! And when Princess Kakyuu was killed... so sad..." Nodded Ingrid.

"I wish I had a boyfriend like Mamo-chan." Cerella flung her hair around as they walked.

"What? Someone who will dote on your every wish and give in if you cry and wail like a baby?" Asked Wanda, earning a glare from Cerella.

"You're only saying that now because you HAVE a boyfriend." Ingrid pointed out rather sarcastically.

"I never really liked Mamoru... he's kind of a jerk to Bunny-chan sometimes." Shrugged Wanda.

"So? Every boyfriend has to have a bit of a jerky side to them in order to real in his girlfriend if she starts getting out of hand." Smirked HuiLing.

"I still can't get over the fact that you have a boyfriend before ME." Grumbled Cerella. "You, miss-anti social and evil-kin-evil on the battlefield."

"Um... excuse me? When did the conversation turn to me?" Blinked Wanda.

"Oh how could we let the conversation draw away from the movie... whatever were we thinking?" Said Ingrid.

"Don't you guys ever talk about anything but boys and entertainment?" Asked Derek, now officially annoyed with all the girl talk going on. "Like why we haven't heard from Queen Elyon in a while, or Phobos?"

"Party pooper." Cerella glared at her older brother.

"How dare we try to spend a day acting like how thirteen year olds should." Retorted Ingrid.

"And a fourteen year old." Wanda corrected.

"Right." Nodded Ingrid.

"Besides, I don't mind a bit of non-excitement for a change." Tress told Derek. "So much has been going on, I can barely keep up with school right now, and got an A-minus in math yesterday."

"So? I haven't cracked open a book in days and I'm feel great." Ingrid smirked.

"Like that means anything to me, miss straight-C average?" Retorted Tress.

"Oh... my gosh! I just remembered something... Career day is TOMORROW." HuiLing said in alarm.

"What? Why didn't you say something sooner?" Cerella half-shouted. "I could have been preparing ahead of time with setting my alarm clock an hour early!"

"What's so important about Career day?" Asked Wanda.

"Dude... It's only the most important day of the second term of school!" Ingrid looked aghast at Wanda.

"Right... if you don't get there early, let's just say you'll be cleaning in the sewers or doing volunteer work at the PRESCHOOL." Cerella looked scarier than she had in a long time.

"Or doing clean up duty at the college laboratory." Smirked HuiLing at Cerella, who shuddered.

"Did you HAVE to remind me of that hell?" She asked HuiLing.

"Only because you're the one who bumped in to a beaker and blew up the room as a result." Sniggered HuiLing.

"Ok... setting my alarm, got it." Wanda blinked, glancing back at Derek who rolled his eyes at his sister.

When the clock tower in Heatherfield struck four o'clock in the afternoon, the group decided to part ways.

"See you guys later!" HuiLing waved, heading to her family restaurant.

"I'm going to go study." Yawned Tress, waving as she walked away.

"And I'm going to go get a head start on my beauty rest for tomorrow." Cerella yawned. "The movies wore me out."

"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" Ingrid went her own way as well.

Wanda blinked when she noticed Derek was still there, after the other girls had all gone.

"What's up?" She asked him.

"Nothing... mind if I walk you home?" He asked her with a smile, which she returned.

"Why would I mind?" She said, walking over to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

Derek felt his face burn magenta for a brief moment before coughing when she pulled away. This was going to take some getting used to, he decided.

"Why are you blushing?" Asked Wanda when she pulled away. She didn't see what was wrong about a hug. Then again, she remembered that they hadn't really had a chance to spend time together since they came back from the latest attack on Meridian.

"Uh... no reason." He lied quickly with another cough. She stared at him when took a breath and the magenta shade vanished from his face as he regained control. "Let's get going." He didn't mind so much when she wrapped her arm around his, in fact he quite enjoyed it as they walked together down the street. He was surprised at how quickly she took to the whole relationship, considering how she'd been about anything socially related in the past. Perhaps the fact that her friends and their parents both approved made a difference in her willingness to cooperate. Or his sister's hints that Wanda had always secretly had a crush on him helped in the adjustments.

Wanda blinked when she noticed he was looking down at her. There was an awkward silence before she looked away again. He smiled and reached over with his right hand, pulling her chin gently to make her look at him for a brief moment before she noticed how close his face was to hers. She saw the look in his blue eyes as his lips hovered above hers for a few tantalizing moments, then they covered the distance rather quickly. For a few seconds, Wanda's eyes were wide in surprise, before she realized she quite enjoyed the kiss and they slowly closed as she leaned in to him.

He broke the kiss after what felt like an eternity, and looked down at her with a small smile on his face. He was pleased to see that her reaction hadn't been one of anger or disgust. In fact, he thought the pink tinge on her face as a reaction from his kiss was rather cute. He blinked in worry when she suddenly looked a little pale as she grabbed her bad shoulder.

"Let's get you home. You've had a long day." He said. He made sure to keep an arm around her, to lend her some of his strength as best he could, while he walked her home. When they reached the doorstop, Will answered it.

"Hi, Derek. Thanks for bringing her home." She said with a smile until she saw the worried look in his eyes. "Something wrong?"

"It's just my shoulder acting up a little today. Nothing a bit of rest won't cure." Wanda said before Derek could reply.

"I just wanted to make sure she got home safe is all." Derek told Will, who nodded.

"Thanks for the help. I have your favorite Pizza waiting for you inside." Will thanked Derek before looking at her daughter.

"See you later Derek." Wanda gave a goodbye wave at him as he turned with a small smile on his face.

Phobos sat on his throne in Meridian watching Wanda through the sand mirror he created on the floor.

"Interesting... so the poison is still having an effect on the girl." He muttered. Cedric stood by his side. "We could use that to our advantage. So long as they don't find the real antidote or have the former Guardian of Earth heal her again."

"What is your plan, My Lord?" Asked Cedric out of curiosity.

"Bring me Dalibor... And then you'll know." Phobos said with a sneer on his pale, stretched face.

"Dalibor, My Lord?" Blinked Cedric, even he was surprised at that request. "But he..."

"These guardians are proving to be much more stubborn and powerful than their predecessors, Cedric. And special times call for special measures. I never had to bring out our dear friend before... but he can help Rhea achieve my ultimate goal for the new Guardian." Phobos stated with a touch of his old impatience.

"Yes, of course." Cedric bowed and left the throne room. Several minutes later, he reappeared with a tall man cloaked in shadow standing behind him.

"You summoned me, Lord Phobos?" A deep, dark voice with a touch of sarcasm came from the shadowy figure. All that could be seen of him for a few moments were the whites of his eyes, and the jet black pupils and red irises. Then he came in to view as Phobos smirked at the man's comment.

Dalibor was clothed in red and black armor. Black armor on his arms, epaulets, and a red and black patterned chest plate. His legs were armored as well, and he wore thick knee length black and red boots. His body was thick, showing pure muscle beneath all the armor. Nothing could be seen of his face but his eyes because of the helmet and mask that he wore. The right half of the mask was black, while the left was blood red. The outlines of the right eye was blood red, while the left was black. A long onyx colored braid flowed from beneath the back of his helmet. He wore a black shirt underneath the armor, as well as black pants and gloves making the red of his armor stand out particularly well in the dark of Phobos' throne room. There were four vertical lines on his mask where his mouth should have been, to represent breathing holes.

"A situation has risen that requires your assistance, Dalibor." Replied Phobos.

"Oh?" Replied Dalibor, the sarcasm in his voice with every syllable and verb.

Phobos pointed at the sand mirror on the floor where he watched the goings' on on Earth.

"Bring me the leader of the Guardians of Kandrikar. With the Heart. Alive or dead. If she is alive, make sure she can still be of use to us. She might have what I need even without the Heart, to ascend to the throne and stay there." Phobos told the man.

"Of course, Master." Dalibor bowed. "I shall go retrieve her. And let our dear friend Rhea do the rest. If she is still alive."

Phobos couldn't help but smirk at Dalibor's response. Nearly everything he said, there was the sarcasm in his voice.

Wanda woke the next morning rather reluctantly as her alarm rang, then started quite literally yelling at her.

"Wake UP! You SAID you wanted to get up early for school today!" The alarm screeched at her in a high female voice for the fifth time.

"UGH, FINE!" Wanda sat up, her hair sticking up at odd ends and her violet nightdress hanging off her right shoulder. She grabbed her alarm, glaring at it. "I'm up, see? Now shut up!"

"Only if you ask nicely, sweetie." The alarm clock replied.

"Do you want me to send an electroshock through your systems and short circuit you?" Snapped Wanda fiercely.

"Wanda, when you're done arguing with your alarm clock, come down and have breakfast, ok?" Asked Will, who had opened her daughters' door and witnessed her daughter having a fight with the appliance again.

"Of all the powers I had to inherit... why did I have to get the one that allows me to speak to annoying appliances?" Wanda said as she rummaged in her closet for something decent to wear that day since it was now Career day.

Cerella was already in the shower, making sure her golden yellow hair was clean and shiny. The bathroom smelled of mint. Her curtains were light pink, and the floor was pink and white checkered tiled. The wall was a simple light pink, with white clouds painted over it. When she was done, she put her hair back in a single braid before choosing a light green blouse with a pair of blue jeans. She wasn't about to be caught dead in a work zone wearing a fancy skirt hat could get spit on or be stained for life. She chose regular tennis shoes and white socks to put on before rushing to the dining room where her brother, mother and father were already sitting and eating their breakfasts.

Derek wore his usual black t-shirt, blue jean pants, and black tennis shoes. His brown jacket hung on the back of his chair.

"So, you ready for today, sweetie?" Asked Cornelia, looking at her daughter.

"I'm surprised you made it out of your bathroom in one piece this morning." Muttered Derek, earning a glare from his little sister.

Dalibor watched the group of girls gather at the gate to their school that day. Hidden in the shadows, nothing could be seen of him. However, he didn't notice a white cat with sapphire eyes following his every move since she sensed the dark presence. Mimiru stayed out of eyesight of the man the whole morning and afternoon.

The five girls and Derek gathered round the bulletin board with their classmates to figure out what jobs they'd get that day.

"Looks like they're taking a different approach this year." Blinked Derek.

"Maybe that's what all those possible career choice forms were the other day they had us do were for." Tress remembered just a few days ago in history class, the class was interrupted by Principal Knickerbocker who handed everyone a big pamphlet of paper related to the kind of careers one would do if given the choice.

Wanda suddenly caught them all off guard.

"YES... zoo here I come!" She exclaimed, throwing up her hands in triumph and showing more energy than any of them had ever seen, at least in quite a while.

"What was that explosion for?" Blinked HuiLing as she looked at Wanda's name and stared. "Caregiver for the animals at the zoo? Lucky!"

"No way... last year I got to clean the Monkey Bars... At the zoo. I can still smell the monkey feces." Cerella shuddered.

"You and animals..." Ingrid said.

"What are you guys getting?" Asked Wanda after she calmed down a little bit.

"Me? Computer specialist at the College in the Heatherfield Astronomy tower for a day." Smirked Tress.

"This year I got something much more befitting of myself." Cerella flipped her long golden braid around. "Designer for the biggest supermodel group in town! I've got all of my art supplies in my locker ready and waiting."

"What else would suit you?" Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"So? What about you?" Cerella asked Ingrid in return.

"Me? I thought I'd go opposite of what I normally do, and try my hand at water studies for the local lake. Good government funded job never hurt anybody." She smirked in response.

"And what'd you get?" Wanda looked at HuiLing.

"Me? I get a day at the local art museum managing all the paintings and making sure hell doesn't break loose there." Grinned HuiLing.

"Hey, looks like we'll be working together then, HuiLing." Stevie, the boy she had a crush on, had overheard their conversation and came over, causing her to give a small shriek in surprise.

"Great! I can't wait to see the museum." HuiLing said once she regained composure over herself. The girls all giggled.

"I wonder who's going to be working with me. I don't see anyone else on the board." Wanda looked up. Normally a mentor got two students or more for the day.

"What did you sign up for, big brother?" Asked Cerella through her fit of giggles over the redness on HuiLing's face as she was talking with Stevie.

"Me? Working at the library." He said this as though it was perfectly casual.

That statement earned several surprised, wide-eyed stares from the girls, and Stevie.

"What? I love poetry and books." Shrugged Derek. He then remembered that he hadn't exactly managed to tell Wanda that yet. He'd been saving that for when he was done with his latest poem. "The literature here has always fascinated me." He admitted.

"Woah... a big tough guy like you, a book worm?" Blinked Stevie. "Never would have thought my idol would enjoy being around a library."

Derek blinked at that statement.

"Idol?" He and Cerella both said in unison, with the same tone of surprise.

"Oh no, you do NOT want my brother as an idol." She said rather quickly before Derek could say anything.

"Thanks for the support." Sighed a now annoyed Derek.

"Hey, Cerella." Odin appeared in their group. "I see you're working today at the modeling group. Great, I'll see you there!" Odin was a tall boy, with a thick head of short black hair that stuck out at odd places. He wore designer blue jeans, a blue long sleeved shirt, and black shoes.

"Odin... you signed up for that too?" Cerella had a look of elegant surprise.

"Oh yeah, I love art and designing clothes." He grinned.

"Hey Derek!" A high pitched, girl's voice came from behind, and Wanda's eyes narrowed. "Looks like we're going to the library together." The girl's name was Eva, and she was in the same classes that they were. It was widely known that she had a massive crush on Derek. "We're going to have to leave animal girl behind for this one."

"First off, I don't appreciate your treatment of my girlfriend. Secondly..." Derek said in anger at Eva's treatment of Wanda. He walked over to Wanda, and kissed her right on the lips in front of the whole group before rising, having made his point that he was now officially off limits to everyone else, and anyone who tried to take Wanda from him would have him to answer to.

Wanda was still blinking in surprise, her face burning magenta when the Principal's voice came over the intercom. The colors on her face clashing brilliantly with her purple striped shirt, blue jeans and tennis-shoes.

"Attention students, please make your way to the auditorium where your mentors are ready to receive you." The Principal said.

The hundreds of students seemed to converge on the spot, in the middle of the hallway before walking down to the auditorium as instructed.

"Why does it always feel like I'm in a pack of sardines when we make for the auditorium?" HuiLing asked as she was bumped around while walking.

The auditorium was filled with round tables and a different group of adults sitting at each one. Each table had a paper plaque stating what facility or group they represented.

Principal Knickerbocker stood at the entrance waiting for the students.

"Welcome everybody, to career day! Please make your way to your specific tables where your mentors are waiting for you." She stepped aside and let the students file in looking around at the different tables and meeting their classmates and mentors for the day.

Wanda quickly found hers, and she was surprised to be the only student working for the zoo that day, while the other tables were seen to be quite full. She saw her friends greeting their mentors, and slowly walked up to her table.

"Hello, you must be Wanda." Smiled the woman sitting at the table. "I've heard so much about you from the Principal and your parents. My name is Julie. Julie Hail. And this is James Greenriver." She pointed at the older man sitting at the table next to her. Julie had brown hair that was tied back in a pony tail, and wore the two piece outfit for the Zoo Employees. Her eyes were hazel green like her parents, while her skin was a healthy looking peach with a light tan.

James had dark blond hair that was short and prickly. There was a gold hoop earring hanging from his right ear, and his eyes were lightning blue. He too wore the blue Zoo employment outfit. He was tall and muscly, while Julie was rather short and scrawny for someone her age.

"Pleased to meet you." Smiled James, as Wanda reached over to shake their hands.

"Shall we get going then?" Julie looked at Wanda, who nodded. She could see Tress looking like she was a kid in a candy store as she was looking at each of the books her mentor brought as examples of what she could expect once she got to the astronomy tower later that day.

Wanda waved at her friends and Derek as she filed out with the two mentors. The three reached the van the adults used to reach the school, and wherever they needed to get to. The van was large, painted ultramarine, with Heatherfield National Zoo in gold lettering on both sides of the vehicle. She got in to the back seat, while Julie took the driver's chair, and James the co-pilots'.

Her friends and Derek were quickly drawn out of her mind as they pulled in to the back end of the zoo where only employees were allowed. She wished she had about four more sets of eyes to be able to look at everything properly. She was seeing behind the cages and enclosed areas for the first time in her life. She spent the morning learning how to care for big cats, like the lions, tigers, leopards, and cheetahs that were at the zoo. Her favorite cats by far were the albino tigers that were huge and powerful.

When lunch came, Julie and James took her to one of the many restaurants in the zoo as a treat. She enjoyed talking about the care of animals in the zoo, and Julie hinted that she might put in a word for Wanda about getting her a part-time job in the future, with how well she got along with one of the tigers earlier.

Tress was like a kid in a candy store that morning. She wanted to go right to the observatory telescope, but her mentor- an older man by the name of Dick Williamson- who had graying short hair, but his eyes were still bright and very intelligent. He however, didn't wear the traditional white lab coat Tress expected to see. Instead, he wore a simple blue sweater, blue jeans, and black shoes.

"Well, first I'll introduce you to the crew." Said Dick once they reached the main observatory.

She saw at least a dozen Apple computers, and just as many Windows desktops. She was itching to get at some of the technology attached to the telescope. Her classmates looked just as exited.

"This is Tom Wagner, our head of technology." Dick introduced the young man sitting closest to them bending over some statistics. He had short brown hair that was neatly combed, and hazel eyes. He wore a red t-shirt, blue jeans and white tennis-shoes. His skin was a dark, but healthy brown.

"Yo kids." He waved.

"His partner is my daughter, Daphne Williamson." Dick went on, directing them to the tall blond woman. Her hair was indicated to be waist length, but it was currently held up in an Asian-style knot. Her eyes were also hazel, and she wore a light blue sweater, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. She sat at one of the larger Apple computers that was usually occupied by Tom.

"And the guy cleaning the telescope is Alphonse Gore. No relations to Al Gore, he likes to remind people." Dick added.

Alphonse was the youngest of the group currently in the main observatory, with dirty blond hair, and bright blue eyes. He wore a black shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis-shoes.

"Hey Mr. Williamson. Giving some of the kids from the school a tour, eh?" Smiled Alphonse.

"You could say that. Al here is in charge of making sure the technology we have is running properly, as you can see." Dick explained to Tress and her classmates.

Tress blinked at Alphonse, who grinned at her from behind Dick's back.

"So, let's get started with the basics-" Dick began a tutorial on how things were run in the observatory before letting them anywhere near the main telescopes.

Cerella couldn't have been happier. She followed her mentor along with Odin, and several other classmates. Apart from Odin and herself, her group consisted of a girl with blond hair in pigtails and blazing blue eyes, light peach skin, wearing a pink blouse and blue jeans and white shoes. Her name was Arianna Giselle, and she was in the same class as Cerella. Next there was a girl with short, shoulder length sepia hair, with hazel eyes. She wore a flower-patterned blue shirt, blue jean shorts, and black tennis shoes. Her name was Diane Berthei. A third girl had short blond hair, light peach skin with a dark golden tan, hazel eyes, wore a blue blouse, and a pair of blue jean shorts and black shoes. She was Diane's sister, Adelle. And the fourth member of their group was a boy with shoulder length black hair, black eyes, while he wore a blue t-shirt, blue jean pants, with a pair of brown shoes. His name was Brian Donatien.

"All right everyone, welcome to the Heatherfield Modeling Agency, where we not only hold photo shoots, but design the clothes for the photo shoots as well." Smiled their mentor, a tall woman with wavy blond hair held in a sideways ponytail. She wore a leopard vest over a white bell sleeved shirt, and a pair of dark blue jeans with a leopard belt. Her shoes were a dark brown, and looked more like boots than shoes. And her watch on her right wrist was silver with white gold, the clock itself wasn't digital, but rather a traditional clock lined with white gold diamonds. The hands were gold, and the glass that protected the clock itself was made from crystal.

"Oh my goodness, I love your watch!" Cerella couldn't help herself when she saw it.

"Thanks, it's beautiful, isn't it?" Their mentor showed it off to the girls while the two boys hung back, already looking bored out of their wits. "Anyways, mustn't get distracted. My name is Melody Sharpner. I'm the manager of this building and the company in it. Let's get started with the grand tour!" She said rather excitedly, her enthusiasm with the event bolstered with Cerella's quickness in complimenting her.

Ingrid was in her element, with her father giving the tour at the college. The classmates that were in her group stared, not having expected this 'nerdy' side to her, as a red haired boy pointed out.

"I didn't realize 'geek' ran in her family." Muttered the red head to his friends as they walked down the college hall way.

Ingrid shot a glare at the red headed boy, before running to catch up with her father, Martin Tubbs who was explaining the intricacies of their computer department. She was glad for a chance to see where her father worked, he always came home talking about computer technology, and the latest programs they were developing for NASA. He made enough money that Irma was able to be a stay at home mother. Which was probably a good thing, Ingrid thought, because she wasn't sure how Martin would be able to handle such a bossy wife at the college if they worked together there. Ingrid often thought her mother would make a good lawyer if she ever wanted a job of her own.

Her group consisted of at least a dozen or more students all varying in age, with Ingrid easily being the youngest next to the red headed boy. There was a sandy blond haired boy next to him, and a black haired older boy on his other side. There was a group of girls in their midst as well. The tallest had shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes, the girl next to her had wavy sepia hair, and on her other side was a girl with extremely short, spiky brown hair. The rest of the group in this tour were three boys- one with black hair and round glasses, the second with black hair that had white streaks and was very spiky, and the third boy had brown hair with a natural curl to it. The three girls that hung around them were some of the oldest in the group, and led by a girl who had ebony pigtails, with her friends being a red head with hair to the middle of her back, and a brown haired girl with hair to her waist much like Wanda, but with more curls to it.

Ingrid almost felt out of place with her short, orange-light brown hair and bright hazel eyes. But she often reminded herself that it made her feel more unique.

HuiLing was in her element. She was exited to be at the Museum of Arts in Heatherfield, and squealed when she saw her mother's paintings on display. Her groups mentor- a woman by the name of Susie, blinked.

"Of course you'd recognize your mother's paintings." She smiled.

Many of HuiLing's classmates didn't realize that her mother was such a great painter.

"Wow, you're mother's really talented." Said Stevie, causing her to blush when he got so close to her in order to examine her mother's most famous work of art: Dawn at Meridian.

"Isn't she?" She smiled back much to the dislike of other girls in their group.

The day went by without incident, as each of the girls learned more about themselves and their career choices that they would be making after they were out of school. When the five girls and Derek reunited at the school after the final bell, they were exhausted and worn out. Wanda had the Heart of Kandrikar hidden away in her backpack instead of around her neck.

"Who would've thought education could be so tiring?" Asked Cerella with a yawn.

"Well, see you guys tomorrow." Wanda slung her backpack over her shoulders. Her back pack was dark purple with light purple pockets in front, and on the side for a water bottle. On the zipper was clipped a collection of at least six beaded or glittering lizards that jingled when they clinked against each other. "I'm walking home today, Mom said it's too nice to ride in a car today." She shrugged.

"Bye!" The group said their farewells and parted their ways to get to their homes.

Dalibor saw his chance at last. Wanda was alone now, walking down the alley way that led to her home. Wanda had paused to have a drink of water from her bottle when she looked up at the sound of heavily armored footsteps falling on to cement. She barely had time to yell when she saw something that made her drop her backpack and water bottle. Something hit her on the head, and she fell in to darkness.

She was hit with such a force that she seemed to fall in slow motion, her hair coming out of the hair tie she usually kept it in when Dalibor picked her up rather roughly, like she was nothing more than a rag doll, before a veil opened up behind him, and he vanished in to it leaving her back pack and water bottle behind.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: **

**Corruption of the Heart **

"Matt, have you seen Wanda? It's way past her normal version of late, even for her." Will asked her husband, who shook his head. "Maybe she got held up at the zoo?" She wondered out loud, then went to her cell phone and picked it up. She made sure to check that her mother and step-father were out of the room before she started talking to it. "Hey, Max. Can you help me by dialing Wanda?"

"Sure thing, Will." Replied the mechanical male voice from the phone.

"You know, I still think that's creepy whenever you start talking to electrical things like that." Matt said as the phone rang and rang until someone picked up. But it wasn't Wanda, it was the phone that she had talking back to her.

"Hey Will, you want Wanda? I haven't seen her in a while." Said the phone.

"You haven't? When was the last time she used you?" Asked Will.

"About lunch time when she gave you and her dad a call." Replied the telephone. "Oh, and I'm Chad, by the way."

"Thanks for the help Chad. What can you remember last?" Will pressed on.

"Well... All I can remember is being stuffed in to her back pack like usual after school, being bounced around like a balloon in here, then a thud and hearing a yell then another thud." Replied Chad.

Will and Matt exchanged worried glances.

"Max, I know this will be asking a lot of you, but can you dial each of Wanda's friends? At once?" Will looked back at her phone.

"No problem, I can do that blindfolded-"

HuiLing was walking down the street to her families' restaurant when she heard the jingling of her cell phone in her pocket. When she answered her phone- a small, red and gold phone with a chinese dragon on the front- she had to jerk it away from her ear at the greeting.

"HUI-LING! Finally! We've been trying to reach you for twenty minutes!" Will's voice was loud in her panic. "Listen, when was the last time you guys saw Wanda?"

"About two hours ago when we said goodbye after school, why?" Asked HuiLing as she took a loud sip from the soda bottle she carried.

"We haven't seen her at all." Replied Will. "And when I called her, she didn't answer."

"You think something's happened to her?" Asked Cerella.

"No, everyone's panicked over your lack of style today, Cerel'." Ingrid put in sarcastically. "Can we stay focussed here?"

"I'll let my mom and great grandma know what's going on and start looking at her regular haunts." HuiLing said as she opened the door. She nearly spit out the soda she barely had the chance to drink through the straw when she saw who was waiting for her inside.

HayLin and YanLin were both smiling at her.

"HuiLing? Something wrong?" Asked Tress.

"No, no. Everything's fine." HuiLing replied. "I'm just going to leave my things at the restaurant and give you guys a call if anything turns up."

"Right... Meantime, I'm going to search from topside." Matt jerked his thumb up to the ceiling as he looked at Will, before stepping out of the house. He made sure no one was watching before transforming in to Shegon, and taking to the skies.

HuiLing said quick goodbyes and stared at Stevie.

"Hey there girl, thought I'd come by and see what all the hub-bub is about this restaurant your family owns." He said walking over to her, completely oblivious to the fact that he brought her stuttering and blushing when he was near.

"Uh.. yeah, it's a great place." She smiled, then shook her head. "But I can't really talk right now, I'm super busy." She looked over at her mom and great grandmother. "Mom, I just got a call from Auntie Will, and she said Wanda's gone missing. I need to go help look for her, and since I'm her best friend I can go straight to her favorite lurking spots. I hope you don't mind?" She asked, her eyes wide and pleading with her head tilted to the side.

HayLin blinked, then sighed.

"Fine, there will just be a bigger pile of dishes waiting for you when you get back." Her Great Grandmother put in before HayLin could say anything.

"Mind if I come and help?" Asked Stevie, with a genuinely concerned expression. He really came to the restaurant because he heard HuiLing's family owned it, and hoped for the chance at seeing her.

HuiLing stared at him, then looked at the clock before letting out a rare frustrated groan.

"Fine," She said against her better judgement. "Come on, let's get going." She grabbed Stevie by the shirt collar and practically dragged him from the restaurant.

Wanda finally woke up, to find herself lying on cold, hard granite floors. She sat up slowly, rubbing her head.

"What was that?" She muttered before her eyes came in to focus, and she realized she was in a small cell, just big enough for one person to stand fully erect in but not move around too much. Apart from the bars- which were glowing an eerie green color- the cell was black and full of shadows.

"So, you're finally awake." Came a familiar hissing voice from beyond her cell doors that she did not want to hear. "Master Phobos requires an audience with you."

Cedric stood in his human form, staring down at her with painfully obvious venom in his eyes.

"You know, the giant lizard look suits your personality better, lizard boy." Snapped Wanda, sounding braver than she really felt. She reached in to her pockets for the Heart of Kandrikor, but found it wasn't there, she normally kept it in her pockets, or her back pack. It was then she realized her back pack must still be on Earth. Crap, she thought as the bars on her cell vanished from a command Cedric gave.

Cedric took her to Phobos' throne room, a gloomy Gothic themed place with rose bushes and thorns growing on the walls around the throne that Phobos sat upon. He didn't have to worry about her making a break for it, with her hands cuffed behind her back.

"I bring you the leader of the new generation of Guardians, my lord." Cedric bowed before shoving Wanda in front of Phobos' throne chair.

Wanda landed roughly on her knees as Phobos stood up to get a better look at her.

"So you're the one who's given me so much trouble..." Phobos hissed with dislike. "Tell me, where is the Heart of Kandrikar?" He asked as he took slow steps down the stairs that led up to his throne.

"I...I don't know." Replied Wanda as roses started climbing up her legs, wrapping around her and preventing her from even trying to move or get away.

"Hey guys... good news, bad news time..." HuiLing and Stevie had found her friends, as well as Derek and Wanda's parents.

"Out with it!" Tress said, a hint of rare impatience in her voice.

"Well, the good news is, we found Wanda's backpack." Stevie said as HuiLing held it up, the beaded lizards that were clipped to her bag gleaming merrily in the sunshine.

"Bad news is, she left her necklace in it." HuiLing pulled out the Heart of Kandrikar.

"Why is that bad? Family heirloom?" Asked Stevie.

"Uh... you could say that." Smiled Will at the stumped look HuiLing had when she looked back at Stevie, who blinked, looking around at everyone's stupefied expressions.

"Ok, you guys are hiding something from me... And I want to know what." Stevie said after a long, awkward silence.

"Well..." HuiLing looked over at Will, who smiled.

"It's ok, there are exceptions to the rule of telling no one." Matt pointed out. "At least once in a while." He shrugged.

Just as HuiLing was about to go in to the discussion at rapid pace explaining when a glowing, violet portal appeared in front of them, startling Stevie.

"Uh... HuiLing... what's with the glowing disc hovering in mid-air?" He asked after calming down.

Everyone turned.

"Looks like Elyon is calling us. Sorry Stevie, we've gotta go." HuiLing stared.

"Elyon? You mean that woman who Cerella's mom is always talking about?" Blinked Stevie.

"Very same, anyways, when Meridian calls, we've gotta answer... Sorry kid." Matt said, now back in to his original form after the search for his daughter proved futile earlier.

"Hey, I wanna come too!" Protested Stevie. "I want to get to know everything about HuiLing."

"Isn't he adorable?" Cerella said, making HuiLing blush scarlet.

"So long as you promise not to tell a soul, I don't see why you can't come with us to meet the Queen..." Said Will, looking at Matt who nodded in agreement.

"I managed just fine, and never told anyone. So kid, what do you say?" Matt looked down at Stevie, who nodded.

"I won't tell a soul. I can already see that no one would believe me if I did anyways. So what do we do to get in to see Elyon?" He looked at everyone.

"Walk in to the glowing disc thing, also known as a portal to another dimension." Grinned Tress. "I'll go first, and you can follow with HuiLing."

Stevie nodded as he watched Tress walk straight in to the portal.

"So... that's it? No fancy words or waving of wands?" He asked.

"We're not witches or anything." Snapped Ingrid, giving HuiLing a poke.

"Huh? Oh, right. Come on, Stevie." HuiLing said, finally coming out of her embarrassed trance, and grabbing him by the wrist, pulling him forward with a strength that surprised him.

For a moment, he thought he was going to crash in to this thing. Then he saw nothing but swirling light surrounding the two of them. Until a rip appeared in front of HuiLing, and she aimed right for it. Beyond the rip he could see a scene that reminded him of one of his fantasy stories, he had to remind himself that this wasn't a dream. He really was being led to another realm by HuiLing, who was not at all the person he had imagined before.

When they reemerged, they were in the throne room. Where Elyon sat, smiling and waiting for the group to gather.

"What's up, your Majesty?" Asked Ingrid.

"What is up is I noticed Wanda is not with you, and instead I see a boy obviously from Earth, born and bread." Elyon's smile faded a little. "The oracles sensed a disturbance, and alerted me. Where is Wanda?"

"We don't know. We've been looking all over Heatherfield for her, but still no sign." Sighed Will.

"Then perhaps it's time to start looking here on Meridian?" Elyon raised an eyebrow. "But first, while Wanda may be missing, did you at least find and make sure the Heart of Kandrikar is safe?"

"Yes, it's right here." Nodded HuiLing, pulling it out of her pocket.

"Good. Until you find Wanda, you won't be able to transform. Will, I believe it can lead the girls to Wanda, correct?" Elyon looked up at Will, who nodded.

"It found me when I was captured by Phobos for the first time." Will explained to the stumped looks on the girl's faces.

HuiLing let out a small yell of surprise when she realized that the Heart of Kandrikar was glowing a bright red.

"What?" Asked an annoyed Ingrid who had jumped when HuiLing yelled.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think this thing is going to help us find Wanda." Replied HuiLing, ignoring Ingrid's tone of voice.

"Stevie, would you mind staying here? No offense, but you're not really accustomed to fighting Phobos or anything yet, but myself, Matt and the Queen will be able to fill you in on everything here." Will looked at Stevie, who half acted like he wanted to follow HuiLing. But Stevie nodded, thinking it would be best not to jump in to anything blindly.

"Well, as they say in the commercials... Follow your nose, HuiLing... or in this case, the glowing red crystal." Smirked Ingrid.

Wanda was hanging by her wrists on the cold stone wall, her face pale and gaunt as Rhea stood in front of her. Her wrists were chained to the wall with thick, old cuffs bolted to it so that she couldn't make a break for freedom. The room was dark, lit only by candles that flickered eerily in the cold dungeons.

"Soon the poison will be taking its full effect on you, child." Said Rhea. "Feeding off of your darker energies. Your anger, your hate, your grief and sorrow. And your loneliness from your childhood. While you may not have the Heart of Kandrikar, Master Phobos can still use the darker energies from you in order to ascend to the throne of Meridian. Once he is back from retrieving his scepter, he will be able to complete your transformation." She gave an unseen sneer as Dalibor stood at the entrance to the dungeon.

"My friends will still fight Phobos... They have the Heart. They can fight even without me as their leader. You don't know how strong they are." Snapped Wanda, raising her head up to glare at Rhea, who's silver eyes narrowed.

"If you weren't such a prize to my master, you would pay for that comment, brat." Rhea growled, bringing her black gloved hand to Wanda's throat, forcing the girl to look right at her.

"Rhea, we need the girl alive for the Master's plan to work." Came Dalibor's deep voice from the entrance, and Rhea reluctantly let go of Wanda's neck.

Phobos had arrived in the artifacts room of Elyon's castle. The guards saw him, and sent out the alarm- the loud horns sounded through the castle as he made to the one artifact he needed most. The room was large with many delicate display boxes that contained old weapons, the now smashed Horn he used to enslave his subjects, and many other items of interest. When he reached the scepter in its tall, long and narrow case, a familiar voice stopped him momentarily.

"Phobos, what are you doing back you traitor?" Elyon was at the entrance of the room flanked by Will, Shegon, and a boy he didn't recognize with short black hair.

"Ah, my sister... ever the inquisitive one you are." Smiled Phobos before he raised his hand. There was a flash of lightning, the glass around the Scepter of Phobos shattered, and he grabbed it. "This should answer your question. I need it for a plan of mine that I have."

"And what plan is this, I order you to tell me!" Elyon raised her own hand, an orb of light appearing at the palm.

There was an echo of laughter.

"HA! You order me to tell you? You, who are far younger than your brother, who is the rightful ruler of Meridian?" Phobos taunted.

Elyon chose not to reply to him verbally. Instead she sent the sphere of light at him. He raised his staff and sent a wave of lightning to counter the attack. The result was both powers were shooting right at Stevie, who let out a yell and ducked just in time while Shegon flew to him, pulling him out of the way.

When they turned back, Phobos had vanished in the confusion and excitement.

Wanda felt pale, and stiff. She couldn't move now if she wanted to. Then she heard someone appear in the room, and glanced up. She couldn't recall anything about herself, her name, her past, or who she was.

It was Phobos, now carrying the Staff that she had seen in the Ancient and Important Artifacts room.

"The poison is taking full effect, Master." Rhea bowed to him as he approached. "She no longer has her memories. So even if her friends turn up now, their efforts will be futile."

"Excellent." He said as Cedric approached from behind.

"The other Guardians are coming... shall I go be the welcoming party?" He asked.

There was a pause.

"No... I have another plan." Phobos looked at Wanda, raising the tip of his staff at her face.

She blinked, looking at it. Then there was a flash of lightning that came from the tip of the stone, then engulfed her entirely. When the light faded, she had reemerged wearing an outfit resembling that of the guardians. She wore a low-cut black tank top with a single strap over her left shoulder, a pink chinese style skirt held on her waist by a violet sash with a black overlaying obi. Her boots were knee length and black, while her pink sleeves cut off below the shoulders, and at the hand were bell like and resembled pink flower petals. Her tight pants were dark green and spring green in color. The strand of hair that she usually had hanging over her right shoulder was in a single braid, tied with a violet hair tie. Her wings were larger than those of her friends, more like her mother's when she gained her second transformation.

"I am here to serve you, my master." She bowed to Phobos, who was smiling in spite of himself.

"Listen to me, my faithful Guardian... you are to go and send the intruders from this castle. Use any means necessary." Phobos ordered, and she rose at once, turning to leave the dungeons.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: **

**Lost in the Shadow **

HuiLing held the Heart of Kandrikar by the black chain that it was fastened to. The crystal itself was shining brightly as it led the four through the dungeons of Phobos' new castle hidden deep within the swamp land. Their footsteps echoed eerily in the water drenched hallway below the castle.

"Ugh, if I had been warned, I wouldn't have come here in a dress." Grumbled Cerella.

"Cerella...!" Exclaimed an indignant Tress. "Can we please focus on the main issue here?"

"Right, sorry." Cerella rolled her eyes.

Derek walked silently in the front of the group as they pressed on, led by the glowing red light of the Heart of Kandrikar. Normally he would have walked Wanda home after school, but everyone had such pressing amounts of homework after Career Day, there hadn't been much time left for him to put it off. Now he regretted that, thinking that he could have stopped whatever it was that kidnapped her from right under their noses. Who knew how long that monster had been following her, at this rate. No one even knew what it was that attacked her, or who. All they knew was that it was a servant of Phobos.

"What's that up ahead?" Asked HuiLing suddenly, stopping abruptly.

There was a figure standing at the end of the tunnel, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Wanda?" Blinked Derek.

"Wanda!" HuiLing exclaimed happily, but Derek grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"Wait..." He warned her.

"But..." HuiLing looked up at him before turning to look at Wanda. There was something different about her, how she was holding herself. The aura around her was no longer shy, but kind and caring. She could tell that now by looking more closely at her friend.

"Intruders are not welcome in His Majesty King Phobos' castle." Wanda looked at the strangers, who were surprised when her eyes did not recognize them. "I am asking you once to leave. If you do not, then I will use other methods to ensure you leave this place."

"We're not leaving without you, Wanda." It was Derek who spoke first, wondering what in the world could have happened to make her turn out like this.

She stood up from the wall, and walked forward a few paces, her eyes were lifeless, the light gone out of them.

"Wanda? What happened to you?" Asked HuiLing, her eyes confused and worried.

"Why would strangers want to know what happened to a person they don't even know?" Snapped Wanda, raising her right hand and directing the palm flat towards the group. "Quintessence!" She said with a hiss in her voice that didn't sound natural.

Lightning shot from her hand at the group, who were all so surprised that they didn't dodge it. In the next second, the hall was filled with the screams of pain from the attack on them. When the lightning finally faded away, the group was on the wet floor, HuiLing gripping the now struggling Heart of Kandrikar as it tried to reach its rightful owner.

"The Master said to dispose of you any means necessary... Or at least make sure you do not get any deeper in to his lair." Wanda was smirking at the sight as Derek was the first to rise, though slowly and shakily.

He looked up at her, wishing there was a way they could wipe that lifeless, expressionless face off her. He wanted to see her smile again, but this wasn't the way to do that.

"Quintessence!" She hissed once more.

This time they were ready, and dodged out of the way.

"Dude... we come to rescue you and this is the welcome we get?" Asked Ingrid, now thoroughly getting annoyed at Wanda's behavior.

"I don't need rescuing." Retorted Wanda. "I need you to leave and never come back." She prepared her incantation once more.

"Fine, we'll leave. We can't fight you. You're our friend... We'll be back though." HuiLing Stood up, soaking wet from the filthy water on the floor.

"BUT..." Cerella protested.

"We can't fight her like this. Let's go back." She copied the slicing movement in mid air, creating a portal with the Heart of Kandrikar.

One by one, the group vanished in to the veil. Derek was the last, with a final glance back at Wanda, who was looking at them with the expression that was nothing short of pure hatred that startled him. He saw her turn away without a second glance back, and sighed before walking through the portal.

Wanda returned to Phobos' throne room.

"The intruders have been evicted, my lord." She bowed to Phobos.

"Well done." Phobos rose to his seat almost at once when he heard those words, and Wanda beamed at his praise while Rhea, and Cedric scowled behind his back.

"My Lord, I do not think it wise giving her such praise so soon." Said Rhea, and Phobos glared at her, his dark eyes narrowed.

"She has succeeded in less time at achieving something that would have taken you a full fight to do." Retorted Phobos. "You have yet to destroy the Guardians and bring me the Heart of Kandrikar. This test run proves that she will be capable of doing just that."

Rhea fell silent, but not without glaring at the girl that stood before her. She'd seen her on a number of fights before, and wondered what this would do to her apparently fragile mental state if her friends ever found a way around the poison and spells that were controlling her.

Will was looking around the group.

"Well, where is she? Didn't you bring her back?" She asked, sounding rather frantic.

"We couldn't." Said Cerella when no one else was willing to say anything.

"What?" This time it was Matt who spoke, as Stevie went over to HuiLing's side, seeing how unusually upset and downtrodden she was.

"She was under some kind of spell Phobos or one of his servants put on her. She didn't recognize us... and attacked us, forcing us to retreat." Tress explained, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. She too had a look of exhaustion on her face.

"It's time you went to see the oracles..." Said Elyon at once. "But first, a little bit of food and rest. You shall go to your rooms here, then Will will take you to see them."

"The oracles?" Blinked a rather tired Ingrid, so tired her sarcastic side had faded out of her completely.

"When you've had some rest we'll explain more. Derek, would you mind showing Stevie back to Earth?" Elyon looked at Derek who nodded.

"Hey, no way am I leaving HuiLing in this state... I mean, I don't get half of what's going on here even with the explanation, but still, I'm going to stick this out." Stevie retorted just as Elyon was about to open up a portal for them. "I mean, I am your friend, right HuiLing? And besides, my parents won't worry. They'll just think I'm hanging out at one of my buddies' places like usual." He waved a casual hand when HuiLing gave a tired smile.

"Then Derek will show you to the guest quarters." Smiled Elyon, knowing HuiLing would be glad for the company.

"Boy... who would've thought that being electrocuted would make us feel like zombies?" Asked HuiLing as the group trooped from the throne room with a still unusually silent Derek.

"Well, lightning does have that effect on people." Tress yawned.

"Hey... aren't I supposed to be the sarcastic one?" Asked Ingrid from the back of the group.

"Whatever." Cerella tried and failed to stifle a huge yawn.

"Heh." Ingrid shrugged as they parted ways in the hallway where their rooms were held.

HuiLing paused, as she walked by Wanda's room, feeling strange about the fact that she wasn't in there sulking about being made to wear Meridian robes. She couldn't help but giggle a little remembering how she and the other girls all got together and ganged up on her, forcing her to wear Meridian robes for the first time. She went in to her room and fell on to her bed without changing from her clothes.

Derek was in his own room after showing Stevie the guest quarters, and was sitting at the table in the center, holding the ribbon he'd given to Wanda in his hand, looking down at it. Finally he set it down, walked to the windows and closed the curtains before changing in to a pair of boxer shorts and climbing under the covers of his bed, completely exhausted from worry and the day's activity. Perhaps tomorrow things would be different after the meeting, and they would be able to find a way to change their situation.

Phobos had summoned Wanda to his throne room, where he informed her of her past when Rhea brought up that there were bound to be questions.

"I'm sure you must have been wondering about yourself, Wanda." Said Phobos.

"Yes. Why do I not remember being here my whole life? All I remember are bits and pieces with those guardians, and that boy that's with them." She said at once. She wore a dark blue dress that flowed to the floor, that had black trim and onyx stones embedded in to the neck line- which was v-shaped, with a black shawl over her shoulders. Her hair was held back in a double braid that arched over her head, tied at the nape in a knot. There were dark sapphire earrings in the shape of tear drops that she wore to match her dress. Around her neck was the ribbon that was usually in her hair, as a choker.

"That is because you were acting as my spy, learning about the new Guardians, reporting everything that happened to me. But things got complicated when the son of the Traitor, Caleb, started falling in love with you, and I was forced to bring you back." Phobos explained. "Do not be surprised if he comes here professing undying love, but do not heed his words. And if the Guardian of Air claims to be your best friend, it is because she was the first to open up to you when you acted as our spy."

Cedric and Rhea were standing there, on either side of Phobos, listening to the lies that Phobos weaved without so much as breaking a sweat. Rhea knew that so long as her poison had the hold on the girl, there was no reason she shouldn't have any problem believing Phobos.

Wanda listened to the story and blinked at the end.

"But then why are there big black spots in my memories?" She asked.

"When I went to bring you back, the Guardians fought with you about it. There was a fierce battle that resulted you going in to a comatose state for a long period. You lost a good part of your memories from that." He replied after a small pause during which Rhea wondered if he hit a brick wall when it came to convincing the girl to stay on their side. "They did not want you coming back to me, for they feared you would tell me all of their secrets. However, with your memory loss, there's no need for them to worry." He added in a fake bitterness with his eyes narrowed. It was all a performance, in order to keep the girl unawares.

Wanda looked up at him, a pang of guilt on her face.

"It is not your fault. You cannot help what those maniacal children have caused." Phobos raised his hand, a clear dismissal.

She bowed to him before leaving in silence, thinking about what he told her as she walked the halls.

A white cat that had long-hair and sapphire eyes slunk around the castle of Meridian, having got word from Fusagu what had happened, Mimiru made her way to meet with Elyon. She found the throne room and let out a meow, catching Elyon off guard, but she knew who it was at once after looking at the time.

Mimiru took to her human shape, bowing before the Queen.

"I came as soon as Susan and Dean were asleep." Mimiru said. "They remain oblivious to what's happening, thinking Will and Matt have taken Wanda on an unexpected concert tour once more."

"Excellent." Smiled Elyon. "When the girls awake, we'll take them to meet the oracles. I have informed them of what's happened, and they have a plan to ensure that they can still fight Phobos, but you are needed in order to ensure they can get Wanda back."

A few hours later, HuiLing, Ingrid, Tress, Cerella, Derek, Stevie, Matt and Will were gathered in the Throne Room with Mimiru.

"I'll send you to Kandrikar, and from there Will can lead you to the Oracle and sages." Elyon said to the still drowsy girls.

HuiLing yawned as she nodded, wearing her sky blue chinese shirt that had the pattern of golden dragons all over, with black pants and shoes. Ingrid wore her blue striped shirt, that had horizontal stripes, blue jeans, white tennis shoes, and her short hair was up in pigtails. Cerella wore a fresh lilac dress from her closet, with bell sleeves and a u-neck line. Around her waist was a dark purple belt for accenting purposes, and she wore simple dark purple shoes while her golden yellow hair was held back in a single braid that hung over her shoulder. Tress wore her favorite colors today of orange and white in the form of a white t-shirt, with an orange tank top over the shirt that had yellow triangles at the bottom, and her favorite orange skirt lined at the bottom with yellow horizontal stripes parted two inches, and in between the lines were the yellow triangles. Her shoes were orange like her outfit, and she had her glasses on, with her hair back in a simple ponytail. Mimiru wore a white blouse, with light blue flower patterns on the bottom of the shirt itself and sleeves. She also wore dark blue pants, and light blue shoes to match her short white hair.

Derek wore a black shirt, brown jacket, with brown pants, and boots. In his coat pocket was the ribbon Wanda had left behind when she was captured by Phobos. At his waist was tied a long, broadsword.

Will wore a red shirt, blue jean jacket, blue jean pants, and white shoes. She held her red hair back with a couple of ruby hair pins on either side.

Stevie wore a white t-shirt with a u-neck, blue pants, and white shoes. While Matt wore a long sleeved black shirt, with blue jeans and black shoes.

Elyon raised her right hand, and two portals appeared.

"The one on the right is for you, Stevie. You should really be getting back, school is starting in a couple of hours according to Earth time." Elyon smiled at the boy, who blinked. "Just tell the teachers that Wanda's parents took the kids on a small unexpected tour with Matt. They should be back soon."

"Right... because no one will believe me if I tell them my friend is part of a group of super powered chicks." Stevie said.

"I like him." Ingrid smirked at his comment while HuiLing grinned nervously.

"Well, see you later. Let me know when you get back if you've made any progress finding your friend." Stevie waved at HuiLing, who once again took an unusual expression of sadness before waving with a smile at him as he vanished through the portal Elyon made for him.

"Let's get going." Said Matt kindly, and the rest of the group minus Elyon went through the portal.

"Wow." Ingrid was the first to speak when they first arrived in Kandrikar.

It was a beautiful place indeed, everything in the shade of silvery white, gold, or blue. They were just outside the castle, on the entrance steps. The girls goggled at the sight until a man could be seen walking towards them. He had fair skin, and a bald head, while he wore white robes of a priest.

"Welcome guardians of Meridian, or should we say, Guardians of the Infinite Veil." The man said with a smile. He looked at the group. "But there is one of you missing... We'd hoped to have the chance to meet with your daughter." He looked at Will and Matt.

"It's a long story, Oracle." Said Will. "That's why we've brought Mimiru with us as well." She indicated Mimiru, who was blinking at the man.

"You may inform us as we walk in to the castle." The Oracle said. "I hope in the meantime you young ladies are impressed with Kandrikar?"

"Oh, yes, definitely. This is beyond anything we could've imagined!" HuiLing said at once as the others nodded fervently.

The Oracle smiled, and led the group through the halls of the castle while Will and Matt explained what happened until they reached the room where the Oromirs were held.

"I see... so Wanda is being hypnotized somehow by Phobos' power. This bodes ill... In order to transform again, you'll need a temporary leader." The Oracle looked at the five orbs floating in mid air, circling around in formation.

"Temporary leader? Now wait just a second-" Ingrid said rather quickly.

"Is something wrong?" Asked the man, looking back at the girls.

"Why can't we just fight as we are?" Asked Tress.

"Because in order to get your friend back, you'll need all the power and strength that you have. And that means having a new leader until she returns." Replied the Oracle patiently. "From what I understand, this goes back to when Rhea managed to poison the girl with her needle... Slowly that poison has been feeding off the child's negative energies, thoughts, and dislike of being chosen to be a guardian in the first place until it got strong enough to completely gain control of her body."

"What? But my mom healed her from all that ages ago." Cerella said.

The Oracle shook his head.

"I'm afraid not... Rhea was telling the truth when she said that only she knew the cure for it. We've been searching since we wiped your father's memories of the incident during which Phobos held them as prisoner with your mothers. Our search will intensify after the meeting here. Until then, you will need the new leader... and I can think of only one other person..." Instead of looking at Mimiru, he looked at HuiLing.

"What? Me?" She blinked.

"You were her best friend, and you have the best disposition and a strong will." He nodded. "While you are the leader, Mimiru will take the role of Guardian of Air. Until then you will have to bear with the changes, girls."

HuiLing and Mimiru looked at each other, before they nodded.

"Very well then..." The Oracle said, turning back to the Oromirs. He closed his eyes, and raised both arms. Three orbs began to glow brightly. A light seemed to go in to the red orb, while the sky blue orb repeated that action. For a moment, HuiLing felt strangely lonely as though she'd just lost another best friend, then in an instant, the light in the sky blue orb shot towards Mimiru while the light from the red orb flew at HuiLing.

Mimiru's eyes went wide as the power that usually resided in HuiLing filled her heart. She felt light and full of warmth, that was when she knew the power transfer had been complete.

HuiLing felt full of energy and power as she became accustomed to her new status. She stared at the Heart of Kandrikar with a look of wonder on her face, wondering when she'd get the chance to use this power.

"The power that Wanda has now, is the darker power within her fueled by Phobos' magic and the poison Rhea has instilled in to her. She must conquer her darker side, all the negative powers, but cannot without your help. The poison Rhea uses is too strong to defeat on one's own." The Oracle said once all the light had faded. "She will especially be needing you towards the end." He looked at Derek, having sensed the boy's bond with Wanda, and knowing by how he was behaving that there was something special he shared with the girl. "It will be a hard fight, but you've got to win. If Phobos manages to succeed in his plans with Wanda, then more than the fate of Meridian will be at stake."

"And according to Queen Elyon, Phobos has retrieved his Staff. Things will be getting busy soon." Said Matt, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Understatement much?" Muttered Ingrid.

"You'll do just fine." Smiled Will confidently as HuiLing put the Heart of Kandrikar around her neck as Wanda would have done.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: **

**Adjustments that were Made**

The oracle looked at the group after the transfer of power had been completed.

"Please, Oracle...sir... can't you tell us exactly what happened to Wanda? I mean... when we saw her she was totally different, not at all her usual self." Ingrid asked after a long silence between them.

The man looked away for a moment, wondering if he should. Finally he decided to do so, and turned away from them, raising a hand. What looked like a mirror hovering in mid-air appeared before them.

"Be warned... what you are about to witness will not be pleasant." He said, glancing back.

They watched Wanda as she was engulfed by Phobos' roses as he interrogated her about the Heart of Kandrikar and its whereabouts. Rhea was standing nearby, as well as a man they didn't recognize in black armor with red markings. Derek's eyes narrowed while he watched Rhea put Wanda against the wall in those thick cuffs while she ensured the poison was working properly. He clenched a fist when he saw Phobos send the electrical shocks through Wanda, that ensured she forgot everyone and everything about herself, on top of the control Rhea's poison gave him over Wanda's body.

There was a gleam in Derek's blue eyes that worried Cerella when the image faded.

"Oooh, that demon's gonna pay." Tress clenched her right hand in to a fist and slammed it in to her other hand violently.

"I don't care if he's the Queen's brother or not." Nodded Ingrid. "Nothing like the smell of vengeance in the morning."

"Careful, young ladies. That is exactly what Phobos wants- you to go in to his castle in a blind rage." Warned the oracle. "You will need time and a plan if you want your friend back, whole and happy. HuiLing and Matt, I will need your help. We'll need to make an antidote for Wanda." He said.

"B-but I thought Rhea said there weren't any antidotes!" Cerella exclaimed.

"If there's a poison, then there's got to be an antidote." The Oracle replied seriously. "And because HuiLing is Wanda's best friend, and Will is Wanda's father, they'll be able to help us figure out how to bring her back. What methods will work, and what won't. And you-" He looked at Derek. "When the time comes, we'll need you above all others, in order to give the girl the antidote... and convince her to take it."

Derek nodded, a fixed expression on his face.

"Until then... HuiLing and Will, I'll need you two to stay here. The rest of you will go back to the Queen of Meridian and stay there. You still require rest." The Oracle said firmly.

HuiLing created a portal for the others. Will and Matt said their goodbyes, before separating.

Matt was concerned about Derek as they returned to Earth, and called Cornelia and Caleb.

"I'm worried about your son. He's been too quiet since Wanda was kidnapped. Just keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." He said to Caleb over the cell phone before hanging up.

Cornelia was picking up Cerella and Derek today, from the Olsen house. When Cornelia saw her son and daughter, she became worried. She wrapped her arms around both, thanking Matt for looking after them for the day, and steered them away from the group.

Mimiru turned in to her cat form as the front door to the house opened. She preferred keeping her true identity a secret from Susan and Dean.

"Where's Will and Wanda?" Asked Dean, looking at the group.

"They decided to stay out for a while." Tress piped up. "Wanda got sick from something she ate while we were out, and Auntie Will is staying with her till she gets better." She put on a fake smile, which was rather convincing.

"All right then." Dean said once he saw Matt nodding to Tress' story.

Ingrid was impressed with how smart Tress was at this point.

"Nice one. See you later!" She said when her father came to pick her up.

Days had passed, and Wanda was growing restless in the castle. She wore a violet pair of Meridian dress robes that had a v-neck line, were lined in black, and held at the waist with a light pink sash. The sleeves were bell-shaped, and cut off just below the shoulders. The top of the dress was a halter-top with a lilac ribbon just below her breasts, held together with three gleaming light pink metal hoops in the front. The skirt of her robes were two layers, with a violet dark under skirt, and transparent lilac over skirt. She paced, revealing glittering violet dress shoes. She seemed a contrast to the dark, ominous feeling in this palace, yet at the same time, fit right in. Her green eyes were lifeless, almost bleak looking.

She walked through the dark halls, with floors lined in crimson carpets, till she reached Phobos' throne room and knocked on the doors. The sound boomed around her like a canon in the silence. Cedric answered the door, and looked less than pleased at the sight.

"I wish to council with Master Phobos." She said, and before Cedric could say anything, she stepped in, moved around him, and saw Phobos sitting at his throne. She bowed to the ruler, and spoke when he nodded, aknowleding her, allowing her to speak. "Master, I ask permission to go and say hello to the Guardians." She said.

"It seems someone is itching for some exitement." Came Rhea's sneering voice from somewhere in the shadows to the right.

"I don't see why not. I want you to go see who they have as a leader." Phobos instructed. "Test the powers I have granted you, do whatever damage you see fit. But do not believe the lies they will undoubtedly try to feed you."

"Perhaps I should accompany you, Wanda? You have not fought them in a long time." Rhea stepped forward.

"Thanks for the kind offer, Rhea, but I can handle those brats on my own." Snapped Wanda, earning an unseen frown from Rhea. "You have yet to capture any of those Guardians, or even the Heart of Kandrikar for our Master. I will go and discover who their leader is. And show them who their enemy truly is now." She smirked at Rhea, bowed to Phobos, who was grinning at the attitude Wanda was showing, and stood back up.

Over the last few days, Phobos had showed her how to transform without a Heart. He'd given her a violet stone the size of a small golf ball, much like the stone in his staff, that was mounted on a black gleaming chain. The stone was set in silver that wrapped around it like a snake, and the silver had a pattern of laurel leaves engraved in it. On the bottom of the stone was a silver pebble sized piece, which tied it all together.

She held the stone up.

"Quintessence!" She called out.

There was a flash of violet light that came from the center of the stone. The light turned in to beams which shot around Wanda, lifting her up in to the air. The light engulfed her in a black sphere, and she reemerged in the outfit she'd worn on her first confrontation earlier that week of the Guardians of Meridian. She bowed once more to Phobos, raised the Crystal using her power to bring it to a glow, and vanished.

Once she was gone, Cedric and Rhea looked at Phobos, clearly not happy with the arrangements.

"I do not see why you place so much store in that girl." Cedric was the one who spoke first. "What if the Guardians find a way to turn her back to their side?"

"Even if they discover how I am controlling her, there will not be a way to reverse the effects. The Crystal of Cepheus was a discovery of mine that I made while raiding my Sisters' Historical Artifacts Room." Phobos told them. "It is an ancient stone, forged during the same period of time as the Heart of Kandrikar. The Crystal of Cepheus was used by the dark witches in ancient times to control their victims utterly. The Guardians at the time managed to break the Crystal free of the witches' control, but could not find out how to destroy its power entirely. And now it is in my control, enhanced by my scepter. And thus enhancing Wanda's power while keeping her under my command."

"Even so... Master, this is a different generation of Guardians.

It had been a long week for HuiLing. She'd been going back and fourth between Earth and Meridian and Kandrikar, whenever the two worlds needed her. She felt like she barely had any time for her friends, since she also had mounting schoolwork on top of everything. Her mother refused to let her drop out of school while all of this was going on, since she claimed a bit of normalcy and routine was good for her.

"Right... who wouldn't want a normal life with routine?" HuiLing sighed as she left the restaurant that morning. She yawned, having spent another late night studying because the moment she left school, she had to go to Kandrikar to help the Oracle and Will in their research. Matt managed to give a believable story, saying that Will was out with Wanda looking at possible extensions for the pet store she worked at, and telling the Principal that he didn't know how long that business venture would take.

"Sorry we didn't give you sooner notice, Principal Knickerbocker, but this just suddenly came up. You know how impulsive Will is." He said as HuiLing passed the office to get to the lockers.

Cerella was leaning against her locker as HuiLing explained what she overheard Matt telling the principal.

"Sure, blame it on the wife." Cerella flipped her hair around as Odin passed. Today she wore her hair in a pony tail. She had on a light pink blouse with simple sleeves and a white halter top. Her skirt was knee length and light pink as well. Her shoes were pink.

"Well... What else is he supposed to say?" Asked Stevie, walking over and joining the group. " 'sorry, but my daughter's been kidnapped and hypnotized by a psychotic alien being bent on mass destruction of our world'? Like anyone would believe that."

HuiLing giggled in spite of herself.

Tress and Ingrid looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Tress wore an orange t-shirt with a v-neck lined with yellow, her black hair was held back in a low pony tail with orange and yellow pony beads that hung from the band itself, dark blue jean shorts, and around her waist was a black belt. Her shoes were white and orange tennis-shoes.

Ingrid wore a blue t-shirt with a u-neck, and three horizontal stripes at the bottom around the waist, and at the base of the sleeves. Her pants were flared blue jeans, and her shoes were white and blue patterned tennis-shoes.

Stevie wore a white t-shirt with a v-neck, dark blue jeans, and plain white tennis-shoes.

"Well, at least we're still all together." Derek came up to the group. "We just have to hope that the Oracle finds a way to get her back." He wore a black t-shirt, a brown jacket, and black slacks. His shoes were black as well. In his pocket- though it was unseen- was the ribbon he'd given to Wanda, that she'd left behind when she was captured. He'd carried it with him since then, as though it were a talisman of sorts.

Cerella looked at her brother, as if worried about his sanity for a moment before walking over and hugging him. Derek returned the platonic hug before walking to his locker, quiet again.

"Seriously... we need to do something to cheer him up." Ingrid blinked after him.

"Yeah, I much prefer his trouble making, sarcastic side." Stevie agreed.

So in between classes that day, the group worked on ways to cheer Derek up.

"We could tie him to a chair and force him to watch a Care Bears episode with Cheer Bear starring in it." HuiLing suggested with a smirk.

"Now that's just plain cruel and unusual torture, HuiLing." Ingrid shook her head.

Tress couldn't help herself as she laughed at the thought of seeing Derek tied to a chair being forced to watch Care Bears until his brain rotted.

"I happen to agree with Ingrid." Derek's voice came from behind, making HuiLing jump. He smirked at her reaction to being startled.

"What are you doing out of class so early?" Asked Cerella.

"Teacher let us out." He shrugged.

"Well, we've got a whole half hour till we have to go meet Mimiru... how bout we go to the park?" Asked Ingrid.

The group concurred, and walked the distance.

"So... how long have you guys had these powers?" Asked Stevie when they got to the park.

"How long HAS it been?" Asked Ingrid.

"I'd say about... six months or so?" Tress said after recalling how long it really has been.

"Wow... time flies." Smiled HuiLing.

"You mean like you?" Ingrid couldn't resist as HuiLing started skipping energetically ahead of the group.

"Well, if you wanna put it literally." HuiLing spun around with a bright smile.

It was a moment of normalcy to the group. The others noticed how HuiLing had been pushing herself to stay cheerful, like nothing was bothering her since the disappearance of her best friend and the duties of leader had been shoved on to her shoulders. Stevie blinked at the smiling Chinese girl for a moment, wondering what that must be like, having your best friend ripped from your side only to see them fighting against you the next time you met. It was hard for him to comprehend, and he hoped he never had to face a situation like that himself. He might not have any super human powers, but he knew he had to do his best to be a supportive friend to HuiLing and her comrads.

"Hey Derek, can I talk to you really quick before Mimiru gets here?" Asked Stevie, and Derek blinked in surprise but nodded.

The two stood to the side from the group of girls as they were gabbing.

"What's up?" Derek looked perplexed at what the Earthling boy would have to ask of him.

"I was wondering if you could teach me how to fight? That way I won't be a burden to them or HuiLing when they fight in the future?" Asked Stevie.

There was a long pause. Finally, Derek nodded.

"All right. But I won't go easy on you." He then put his hand on Stevie's head, almost like he thought of the boy as a little brother of sorts.

"Hey!" Stevie brushed Derek's hand off his head and flattened his own dark hair.

"So everyone's here?" Came Mimiru's voice, and the group turned. At first they saw a white cat with long hair and sapphire eyes staring up at them.

There was a flash, then Mimiru stood as a human before the group.

"Yup. Every one of the Idiot Brigade is present and accounted for!" HuiLing said cheerfully.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Wanda said from the shadows, standing under a nearby tree.

The group turned.

"Wanda! How did you get out?" HuiLing asked. But she stopped. She saw that Wanda was still wearing her outfit given to her by Phobos. In the girl's hands was a stone they'd only glimpsed at in Elyon's Historical Artifacts Room.

"Quintessence!" Wanda cried, holding the stone up and directing it at the group.

Violet lightning erupted from the stone at the group.

"Attacking an unarmed opponent? I thought I taught you better!" Derek grabbed Stevie as the lightning shot towards them, and vaporized a park bench. Shards of wood and metal showered them.

"You never taught me a damn thing." Wanda lifted up in to the air, her much larger wings gleaming in the sun.

"Guardians, Unite!" HuiLing shouted, holding the Heart of Kandrikar in to the air.

When the group re-emerged, Mimiru was revealed to have a new outfit. Her white hair was put up in a loose knot, blue sapphire earrings the size of peas gleamed from the lobes of her ears. She wore a blue shirt with pink straight straps on her shoulders, and the lines that resembled crescent moons were at the base of the shirt two inches below her breasts and on her stomach. She wore white gloves lined in blue, a pink mini skirt lined in blue at the bottom, and with a dark green triangle shape at the top that matched her wings. Her tights were dark green and spring green striped. Her shoes were blue, the same shade of blue as her eyes and earrings. A single blue strap wrapped around each of her ankles, and she had the same kind of wings that HuiLing and the others wore on their backs.

Wanda looked at HuiLing.

"So you're the leader..." She said, surprised it didn't take too much work to figure it out. She raised her hand holding the stone. "Quintessence!" She hissed.

HuiLing brought up her hands, the palms facing the violet lightning that came at her.

"Quintessence!" She shouted, using her new powers for the first time. It felt strange, when for so long she'd been using the power that she felt like had been so second nature to her.

There was a scream, and HuiLing was sent flying backwards. Her right arm was bleeding.

"Her power's been amplified somehow..." Derek blinked, as Stevie was helping HuiLing to her feet.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious captain eagle eye." Ingrid said with an unusual note of impatience in her voice. She earned a glare from Derek as she flew forward.

"Water...!" She called out, raising a hand above her head and directing her palm at Wanda.

A pillar of water erupted from the ground with a roar, snaked upward, and right towards the girl who was once her friend.

"Quintessence!" Hissed Wanda. What looked like a violet orb or shield of sorts wrapped around her, generated by the Crystal she held. When the water was absorbed in to the shield, the shield turned in to violet lightning that shot at Ingrid.

"Watch out!" HuiLing shouted.

Ingrid knew she couldn't use her water against the lightning, it would only make the lightning more powerful. She flew to the right, barely missing the attack. She could feel the ends of her hair singing and smelling of smoke. The lightning curved around behind Ingrid, and came right at her from behind. She barely had time to glance behind her before it slammed in to her back. She screamed in pain as the violet lightning engulfed her, before she fell to the ground.

"Well... I know now what it's like to be Mongolian Barbecue." She groaned, her muscles ached to say the least, and she felt burn marks all over her body.

Wanda landed on the ground in front of the group.

"My turn..." Mimiru's eyes were narrowed as she raised her hands. She knew how to use the power over air already, and raised her hands in front of her as Wanda directed the Crystal she held at her.

The Violet lightning shot at Mimiru, who clapped her hands together right in front of her. What sounded like a cannon blast erupted from her hands, sending the grass below her feet billowing in all directions as it deflected the attack.

"So you're the traitor?" Wanda asked, remembering what Phobos had told her about Mimiru.

"Who wants to know?" Mimiru sneered.

Wanda smirked.

"Quintessence." She growled.

HuiLing stood up at this point.

"Wanda! It's me! HuiLing! Your best friend, remember?" She said.

"I have no friends." Wanda's eyes were cold, lifeless. Exactly the opposite of how HuiLing remembered them as being.

Mimiru blocked the attack of the violet lightning, and sent a wave of air at Wanda. It was clear that HuiLing did not want to fight her best friend, but Mimiru understood that it had to be done if they were to ever find a way to get her back.

A frown corssed HuiLing's face at the sight of her two friends fighting each other. She could barely believe that this was the same Wanda that she'd known most of her life. Now instead of the shy, quiet, kind, yet temperamental girl, was an angry, bitter and resentful person. Had she hated her responsibility of being a Guardian so much that no one wanted to listen, and in fact opened things wide up for Phobos to take advantage? No. That just wasn't who Wanda was. She worked hard at keeping the group together, showing that she could be just as good a leader as her mother had been to keep the Heart safe from Phobos' hands. And HuiLing would do the same so when Wanda came back to them, she would see that they were still friends, still the same as before.

HuiLing flew up to face Wanda as Cerella blocked a wave of violet lightning attacks.

"Wanda... I don't want to have to fight you..." HuiLing looked in to her friend's face. "But I will if there is no other option. QUINTESSENCE!" She and Wanda cried out in unison.

Derek watched, a feeling of helplessness coming over him as he saw HuiLing sending her clear, electric blue lightning at Wanda, and Wanda sent her violet lightning at HuiLing through the use of her Crystal. The sound was like a cannon blast when the two forces met in between the girls, there was a blinding flash of multicolored light. For several moments the two hovered in midair, before the energy from the two elements forced them to the ground.

HuiLing caught herself before she hit the ground, and so did Wanda. The two stared at each other, HuiLing with wide, black eyes and Wanda with narrow dark eyes.

"That's the power of one who holds the Heart of Kandrikar, is it? No wonder my Master wants it so badly." Wanda commented.

"You had that power once too, Wanda." HuiLing stared at her.

Wanda didn't listen to her. Instead, she looked down at the ground.

"There are two people I have yet to test..." She said with a smirk at Cerella and Tress.

Cerella was more than willing to fight Wanda when it was obvious she was under a spell of some sort.

"You guys might hold back, but I won't." Cerella grumbled.

"Hey, who says we're going to hold back?" Asked Tress.

Wanda's eyes narrowed with interest as Cerella brought up her arms in a motion like she was lifting something incredibly heavy. What looked like a giant pillar of solid rock erupted from the ground beneath them.

"As much as I enjoy our uplifting reunion, Guardians, I grow bored of this." Wanda sighed as the shield appeared around her once again. She then sent a wave of violet lightning at the oncoming rocks, before Tress sent half a dozen fire arrows to counterattack.

"Wanda please, don't go back there!" This time Derek spoke. She looked at him, her eyes not recognizing him at all. "You have no idea what they're doing to you!"

"Shut your mouth, rebel!" She snapped fiercely. She'd been warned about this man from Phobos, and wasn't about to let these humans trick her again. "Quintessence!" She growled, sending a wave of lightning attacks at him. She was impressed with how quick he was at dodging the lightning, even without powers or wings like she and the Guardians had. Then again, she supposed that was one of the benefits to being the son of the traitor and a former Guardian. Something about this young man infuriated her more than the five Guardians who she was fighting.

She flew beside a large maple tree, when a figure appeared on one of the largest branches next to her. She looked, and saw it was Rhea.

"The Master demands you return, M'Lady." Rhea spoke the words as though she loathed being forced to call Wanda that.

"Well... I did what I came to accomplish." Wanda looked at HuiLing and Mimiru. "I'll be seeing you again." She looked at Derek, but made no comment.

"Wanda... No, don't go with her!" HuiLing flew at her friend, but there was a flash from the Crystal that Wanda held, and the two had vanished by the time HuiLing reached them.

HuiLing let out a frustrated yell, sending an attack of lightning at the tree before flying back to the group.

"Easy girlfriend." Cerella looked concerned for her brother and her friend.

"Let's get to Kandrikar." HuiLing said, holding out the Heart and slicing it through the air as she'd seen Wanda do so many times. The portal opened, and without a word, she tromped in to it.

The girls all looked at each other, clearly worried. But when they all got to the other side, HuiLing appeared to be perfectly cheerful again, and so long as no one mentioned what had happened, they didn't have to worry about being attacked.

"So you were confronted by Wanda?" Will asked once Derek started telling her and the Oracle about what had happened.

"Yes, but she was different this time. Even more so than before." He nodded.

"Yeah... She had this weird Crystal necklace with her that she used in her attacks. Her powers were really juiced up too. We couldn't even scratch her." Tress said.

"Crystal?" The Oracle's eyes narrowed. "Tell me what this Crystal looked like."

"Well... it was about the same size as the Heart of Kandrikar, but it was violet with a black chain. And it had silver fastenings, and engraved silver wrapping around the crystal like our Heart." Ingrid nodded as she remembered all the details when she got up close to Wanda during her attack.

The Oracle frowned.

"So Phobos now has control over the Crystal of Cepheus..." He said.

"The Crystal of Who?" Blinked Cerella.

The Oracle beckoned the group to his library, where he summoned a lore book. The book hovered in front of the Guardians and their friends.

"The Crystal of Cepheus... It is an ancient stone, just as old as the Heart of Kandrikar. Once under the control of the Dark Witches of Eridanus, a group of Guardians much like yourselves managed to take it away in a battle that resulted in the demise of the Witches." He explained, the page turned to reveal the guardians he spoke of.

"So... These girls are before Nerissa and her gang?" Asked Will.

"Yes. Long before. They managed to convert all the negative energies being forced in to the Crystal of Cepheus. But they could not destroy it, much as you cannot destroy a Heart. Because the Crystal of Cepheus is the Heart of Eridanus, a world long destroyed when the power ruling it became corrupted by the Dark Witches. I am sure Phobos must have gained possession of it when he raided the Queen Elyon's Historical Artifacts Room. The power behind that Crystal will not have passed his line of sight without gaining his interest." Sighed the Oracle. "And from what I understand of your description of Wanda's behavior and appearance, you must expect a hard fight if you truly wish her back. The hold that the Crystal of Cepheus and the poison in her from Rhea is very strong. But we will find the antidote to the poison, and once that is accomplished, we will be able to weaken Phobos' hold on her and purify the Crystal."

"Sure... Easier said than done." Sighed Cerella. "But it's for our friend, so onward." She added quickly upon seeing the looks from Derek and HuiLing- both glared at her.

"We'd better get a pay raise once we get our friend back." Ingrid pointed out. "This has to be our toughest job yet."

"No pain no gain." HuiLing said cheerfully. "Where there's a will, there's a way."

"Ok, Ok. Enough with the mini-speeches." Tress sighed. "You're all giving me a headache."

"HuiLing, Will, please come with me. The rest of you, return to Meridian please." The Oracle said as the book returned to its spot in the library, high up on the gleaming marble shelves.

HuiLing swiped the Heart of Kandrikar through the air to send the others to Elyon's throne room as planned.

"We'll see you later. We're going to be looking for a way to purify that Crystal in Elyon's library and Historical Artifacts Room." Ingrid smiled, and HuiLing nodded. She watched as the group- including Stevie- vanished through the veil. A new determination had formed in her heart. She was bound to keep the group together, just as Wanda had been. And she would keep pushing forward. She meant it when she said 'where there was a will, there was a way'. She then turned, after making the mental declaration, to help Will and the Oracle search through the resources for something that would work as a cure for the poison Rhea used to control Wanda.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One: **

**The Message Behind One's Actions **

HuiLing yawned and stretched. It was early morning, and her alarm was going off. She glared at it, not wanting to get out of bed, but knowing she had to turn it off. Her hair was out of its usual braids, and hung loosely all over her shoulders, it stuck up at odd ends because she'd slept on her head wrong. She wore a teal blue nightdress that went to her knees, with a v-neck. Finally she dragged herself out of bed and shut it off with a wide yawn.

She blinked at what she had on the dresser- the Heart of Kandrikar. It gleamed in the morning sun, looking innocent. Like it was an ordinary necklace.

"Right... It's as ordinary as seeing a pig fly." She sighed at the thought as she began brushing her tangle of hair.

"HuiLing, are you up?" Came her mother's voice from the other side of the door.

"Yes, Mom I'm up." She gave another huge yawn.

"Ok. Make sure you're down here in half an hour." HayLin said before walking away.

HuiLing yawned again.

"Whoever came up with the idea of school during times like this ought to be strangled out in public." She said. She smirked at another thought. If she had Wanda's powers, maybe she could get her hair care items to do the work for her. "Quintessence...?" She said, and she giggled as her brushes got to work, untangling her hair without pulling so much as a strand. The comb helped separate her hair so she could braid it. The items went back to the dresser top, and she couldn't have been happier. Well, there were a few benefits to borrowing a friends' powers. She dressed in her favorite teal blue Chinese shirt with golden dragons patterned all over it, black shorts that went to just a couple inches above her knees, a black belt around her waist, black shoes, and white socks. She put the Heart of Kandrikar around her neck, underneath the collar of her shirt, then ran out of her room, grabbing her bulging backpack that sat next to the door.

"HuiLing, you're down here early." YanLin said in surprise.

"I'm just wanting to get an early start this morning, Great Grandma." Smiled HuiLing.

"You have the Heart with you?" Asked HayLin.

"Yup." HuiLing pulled it out from underneath her neck collar to show, before putting it back. "I plan on keeping it safe so I can give it back to Wanda when she gets back." She smiled brightly as though Wanda was just out for a weekend vacation.

HuiLing grabbed a Chinese breakfast dumpling that was on a dinner plate and dashed for the door.

"See you later!" She called through a mouthful.

"That daughter of yours has issues." YanLin said to HayLin, who sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Hey girl." Cerella waved at HuiLing. Today Cerella wore a pale pink t-shirt, over that was a light orange vest, both of which had a v-neck line. Her hair was hanging loose except for two butterfly hair-clips that glittered in the morning sunlight. She wore blue jean pants with a light pink belt around her waist, and her shoes were white tennis shoes with light pink and orange stripes. Her backpack- light pink and white- hung on her back.

"Going for bright and annoying today I see." Yawned Ingrid, who joined the two. She wore a simple blue t-shirt with a v-neck, dark blue jeans, with a black belt around her waist, and white tennis shoes. Her hair was held up in a messy half knot. She had her black and blue backpack slung casually over her shoulder.

"Well at least my back pack doesn't look like a giant bruise." Cerella flipped her hair around.

It was a good thing that Tress turned up when she did. The two girls were staring daggers at each other, and HuiLing was looking as though she wasn't sure if she should jump in between the two or let them have their catfight.

"Hey, why is everyone so cheerful this morning?" Asked Tress. She had her hair in a fiery orange headband with yellow diagnal stripes. Her shirt was red and orange striped, horizontal, and the sleeves cut off at her shoulders. Her sleeves were small bell shaped, and her pants were black denim flared jeans. Her shoes were white tennis shoes, with fiery orange stripes across at the base. She had her backpack- orange and light yellow with strings of pony beads hanging from the zippers of the same color- on her back.

Cerella glared at Tress, and the gall she showed.

"I hardly call cranky girl here cheerful but ok." Ingrid shrugged.

"Hey, what's with the new hairstyle?" Tress blinked at Ingrid.

"What? You like it? I thought I'd try something different today." Ingrid spun around.

"Finally." Sighed Cerella.

"Well, let's get going before we miss the first bell." HuiLing said before another cat fight started.

The group met Stevie at the lockers in the hall way, where Derek was talking to the boy about his first training lesson, which would be after school.

"Hey guys!" HuiLing said with a bright smile.

"Hey." Derek replied in greeting.

"Derek!" Came Eva's voice from down the hallway, and the girls had a look of dread. Eva wore her golden yellow hair up in a violet headband, she wore a violet summer skirt with the top that had a v-neck, and lilac and white cherry blossom flowers patterned all over. Her shoes were simple yet elegant and violet, with a single violet strap around each of her ankles. At her wrist was a silver diamond poleroid watch. There was a malicious glint in her blue eyes as she walked up to Derek, flat out ignoring the rest of the group. "I heard Wanda's going to be gone with her mom for a while, how bout you and me hook up while she's gone?"

"Sorry, but I don't work that way." Snapped a rather angry looking Derek.

Eva's face fell in a combination of shock and dissappointment.

"Come on, I'm sure she won't mind!" Eva persisted.

"Hey, Prima Dama, if you want the drama club, it's down the hallway. Derek's got a girlfriend." Ingrid said in annoyance.

"Right, that fashion disaster? The LEAST he could do is pick someone with a sense of style." Eva flipped her golden yellow hair in irritation.

"Hey, I like being fashionably hip like the next sane person, but NO ONE picks on my brother's girlfriend like that. Wanda's style is unique to her own self. And just because you don't like her doesn't mean the rest of us have to." Cerella stepped up, a rare look of outrage on her face.

"Fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted. But watch your back, Derek dear, I'll snag you one of these days." Eva looked like she was about ready to pout.

Derek yawned quite obviously, and very wide to show he wasn't interested in her drama as the girl stalked away.

"What was up with her?" Asked Stevie with a frown.

"Getting in touch with her inner jerk?" Tress shrugged.

"Either way, thanks for getting rid of her." Derek looked at Cerella and the others. "She's been a pest ever since Wanda left." He didn't dare say 'ever since Wanda was kidnapped' unless someone was evesdropping and contacted the police. He heard stories about what happened when Elyon first started traversing between Earth and Meridian, and how one of Phobos' spies infiltrated the school and spread rumors that the former Guardians had done something to her.

When they filed in to their class with the rest of their classmates, Dean called them all to silence.

"I have a quick little announcement to make before we start today. We're going in to World War Two History today, and at the end of the week, there will be a test." He said.

A loud groan came from his students and he sighed.

"We're going to be finishing the World War One movie today, and I expect each of you to take notes. Ingrid, would you mind making extra copies for Wanda when she gets back?" He asked, and Ingrid nodded. She was widely known as the best note-taker in class.

"Aye-aye Wanda's grandpa." She gave a mock salute, earning a few well-heard giggles among the class. Even Dean smiled at her statement.

Dean plugged in the television that was mounted on a rather tall, black moving shelf, before grabbing the remote, and walking over to the door, turning off the lights.

HuiLing found it hard to concentrate that day. She kept on getting the feeling that she was being watched, and not by any of her friends or Stevie.

Wanda frowned . She was not happy that Phobos had brought her back before she'd had a real chance to exercise her power. She'd not been able to see Phobos since that day, and she felt restless. All she had were books in her rooms. Today she wore a two layered dress, which was a v-neck, and cut off a few inches just above the shoulders. The top layer of her gown was dark purple, and stopped three inches below the knees to reveal the second layer, which was lilac. The sleeves were long, elegant, and bell shaped. The bottom of the top layer of the dress was lined in gold, as was the neck and sleeves. The dress looked heavy, but was rather light and elegant. Her brown hair was held back in a single French braid. Around her neck hung the Crystal of Cepheus. She sat in a cushioned chair, looking out of a window in her bad mood.

Just as she as musing, there came a knock on her door. When she went to answer it, she saw it was Cedric.

"The master wishes to see you." He said.

She nodded, knowing better than to argue with Cedric, and followed silently wondering what Phobos wanted with her this time. When she got to Phobos' throne room, she was surprised to find that he was not alone. It wasn't Rhea who was standing by her side, but a girl the same age as she was. This girl had boyish, short hair that was raven black, and her eyes were onyx as well. Her skin was pale, and seemed to glow in the dark atmosphere that was Phobos' throne room. She wore a rather simplified dress- black with a u-neck, lined with silver, and tight fitting sleeves. Around her waist was a silver belt.

"Ah, Wanda. I'm glad you could make it." Phobos rose from his chair as she bowed to him. "This is Cybele. I thought you two could get to know each other. I know you had to be lonely and upset after the betrayal of the Guardians, so I spent some time looking for someone who was willing to befriend one of my best servants."

Wanda blinked in surprise.

"That would be great!" She said happily.

"I'm exited to get to know someone who is so highly praised by our Lord." Cybele bowed to Wanda.

"Thank you, Master." Wanda bowed to Phobos, who was smiling kindly even though the smile did not reach his eyes as he watched the pair leave, talking.

"My Lord... Do you really think it... wise to leave Cybele with such a... delicate situation?" Asked Cedric.

Cybele, while not new to Phobos' servants and minions, had rarely been summoned up until now. But that was only because Phobos didn't have a need for someone with her special talents.

"Wanda needs a reason to want to stay here. So, I decided to bring forth Cybele. She knows what is at stake should she let something slip, or let Wanda leave this castle without my say-so." Phobos replied.

"So what you're saying is Cybele will be able to keep Wanda under lock and key while under the guise of being her friend?" Rhea came from the shadows, to stand next to Cedric.

"Exactly." Phobos nodded, looking at the door to his throne room again. He had sensed Wanda's restlessness when she came back, along with the danger that she might recover her memories and revolt against him if that restlessness persisted. So he summoned Cybele, and told her the trickiness of the situation that she would be placed in before bringing Wanda in. It would be interesting to see how this played out.

Derek and Cerella were staring at their mother.

"What?" Cerella blinked.

"I said my sister Lilian is coming over for a visit this weekend." Cornelia stated a second time.

"And that freaky cat of hers?" Stared Derek. He was not at all fond of Napoleon, who always seemed to want to stick his nose in what he or Cerella were up to, sometimes at the worst of moments.

"Of course. I've told you before she knows all about W.I.T.C.H., and about what's been going on. She learned that she was the Heart of Earth when she was fourteen." Cornelia nodded in a 'this is final' sort of way. "So I want you two to be on your best behavior."

"With everything going on, why couldn't Aunt Lilian pick another time to visit?" Asked Derek. He did not like the idea of his aunt coming here when every one was so distracted, and she would undoubtedly be berating him about his girlfriend who was currently under some sort of spell and fighting against him.

"It's BECAUSE of everything that's happening that Lilian decided to come in the first place, Derek." Caleb had come in to the room. "She wants to be there as support for us."

"Great. Just what we need..." Cerella sighed, just as annoyed as her brother was.

"I expect you to show your respects to Lilian. She's not as bad as you think." Cornelia said, a little softer tone in her voice.

"Ugh, fine." Cerella clearly showed that she didn't want to, but at least she was cooperative.

So at three o'clock, when a knocking sounded from the door, Cornelia answered it.

A tall woman with short, curly blond hair and brilliant blue eyes was at the door, her gray Russian Blue cat Napoleon in her arms. She wore a black shoulder-less shirt, line with silver at the collar and ends of the sleeves. Her skirt was black, and her shoes were black.

"Going for the witch look entirely now I see." Smiled Cornelia as she hugged her little sister.

"Well, considering that's what I am technically." Lilian walked in. She spotted Cerella and Derek. "And how are my favorite niece and nephew?" She asked, walking over to them and hugging each of them.

"We're your only niece and nephew." Cerella smiled her best. She had changed in to a pink skirt with a v-neck, white halter top, and shoulder straps.

Derek managed to wriggle free of his Aunt's grasp.

"So, is it safe for Napoleon to speak here?" Lilian asked her older sister, who nodded.

"About time." Napoleon said.

"What the?" Cerella blinked at the cat.

"I've been able to talk since Lilian here was a kid. What's so unusual about that?" Asked Napoleon, jumping down. "I hear you two have gotten yourselves in to quite the fix with Phobos."

"This is gonna take some adjusting to..." Derek stared at the cat.

"Tell me about it. A cat talking? That's just plain creepy." Cerella bent over, looking at Napoleon warily.

"You can stop looking at me like that, doll face." Napoleon said in annoyance.

"Man... wait till Ingrid and the others hear about this..." Cerella jumped back from the cat.

"Lilian, mind if I give these two a talking-two?" Asked Napoleon, looking at her.

"Sure, go ahead. I've got a lot of catching up to do with my big sister." Smiled Lilian. "And don't worry, I had quite the freak out when I realized my cat could talk." She winked at the two who looked far from reassured that they weren't loosing their minds.

"So, somewhere we can talk privately, doll face?" Napoleon looked at Cerella, who nodded.

"Theres...the balcony..." Cerella looked at Derek.

The two left rather quickly with the cat in tow, through the condominium to the balcony on the other end of the living room.

"So, you're the new guardian of Earth, right doll?" Napoleon looked at Cerella.

"Yeah, so?" Blinked Cerella, nonplussed.

"And your best friend Wanda is currently under Phobo's mojo?" Napoleon went on.

"What's your point, talking cat?" Derek was already starting to loose his patience with the feline.

"I'm saying, there's a way to break the mojo that Phobos has put over her. It just takes some persistence is all, D'." Napoleon looked at Derek, who blinked at the nickname, not entirely thrilled. "I did some researching myself. And while I understand that the gal HuiLing is helping the Oracle of Kandrikar find an antidote to the poison Rhea put in her. So, my part should be easy peasy. You guys just need to be persistent... Keep talking to Wanda like she's your friend still, talk about things that happened in the past. Only fight her if you absolutely have to."

"Right. And we should be taking orders from an annoying talking cat we hardly know...why?" Derek was leaning against the wall.

"Well, if you never want your girlfriend back, D, then just ignore me and continue with what you were doing before... Standing around being all depressed and mopey with no clue what to do." The cat said nonchalantly, licking his front paw and scratching his ears as he spoke.

"I hate it when people- and cats- get like that." Derek's eyes went wide for a moment, before he frowned.

"I'll pass the message on to the others." Cerella looked like she was finally used to the talking cat.

"Good... and in the meantime... Who here knows where I can get some good tuna?" Napoleon looked at the two as though this were perfectly normal.

Ingrid, Mimiru, Cerella, Tress and HuiLing were gathered at the Green Dragon restaurant in a corner away from everyone else.

"So... Napoleon's really your Aunt's Familiar?" Asked HuiLing.

"Yup." Nodded Cerella, who looked none too thrilled about that fact.

HayLin came over to the group with a large tray of Chinese food on one arm, and a rack to place the tray on in the other.

"Don't be so surprised, I mean, Mimiru's a cat when she's out and about normally." HayLin said, putting each of their plates in front of them.

"Hey, where's Derek? Isn't he supposed to be here?" Ingrid looked around.

"He said he had something to do before he came over here." Shrugged Cerella as she started on her dinner- a plate of pan fried noodles with a celery and vegetable topping and shredded pork, on the side she was eating sweat n' sour pork, and fried won-tons.

"Oh well, he's the one missing out on this great food..." Ingrid grabbed her copsticks, and started slurping her own noodles.

Tress shrugged, already eating her fried prawns with sweet n' sour sauce all over.

Derek was already in Meridian's swamp land, headed once again to Phobos' castle. This time not to spy, but rather he had something he felt the need to do. It was dark here, and he had his sword out just in case he came across anyone unfriendly. He ducked behind a thick, molding log near the castle as he watched the guard around the entrance. Looking up, he saw the windows of the castle. He

couldn't see what he was looking for in any of these.

He ducked down as one of Phobos' sentries marched by. He slipped through the trees, until he reached castle wall, unnoticed. Looking up, he scanned each of the windows before sliding to another side of the castle. Finally he reached the western side. After making sure no one would see him, he slipped through the swamp trees until he could look up at the windows. Finally he saw what he was looking for.

A familiar silhouette was standing on a balcony on the fourth story. He felt his heart clench at the sight as she turned her back to the scenery when someone unfamiliar came on to the balcony, offering her a goblet. He couldn't hear what was being said, but the unfamiliar girl soon left. He saw his opportunity.

Quickly and quietly he found a vine. Then, sheathing his sword, he started climbing using his hands and feet. He climbed until he reached the balcony that he'd seen her standing on. He was glad that she was still there when he got there.

Wanda heard the noise of someone climbing the wall, turned, and blinked.

"You..." She frowned. It was not a welcoming gesture at all when he jumped over the edge of the balcony to the platform.

Derek blinked at her. She was totally different than what he'd known her as before. He never would have seen her in such an elegant dress so willingly, or wearing her hair braided in that French Princess braid either.

"Wanda... I came to see you." He said as she pulled out the Crystal of Cepheus from the left sleeve of her dress.

"Well, that was a mistake. Brave, but foolish. I wonder... are all men like that?" She asked.

"Wait! Wanda... Don't transform... I didn't come here to fight." Derek said quickly, stepping forward. He was quicker than her even now. He ran up to her and grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the Crystal of Cepheus. He held it tightly in his own hand, and with his other hand, grabbed the ribbon that was in his pocket.

Wanda was blinking rapidly as she struggled to break free.

"How dare-" She began, but he cut her off.

"This... Remember this?" He asked her, holding up the ribbon. "I made this for you, gave to you as a birthday present."

"Why would I remember something so idiotic?" She glared at him. "Release me!" She raised her voice, and he put his hand over her mouth to quiet her.

"Listen to me... I'm telling you this because I care about you... I love you and don't want to see you go down the wrong path that you are starting." Derek looked at her, his blue eyes staring fiercely into her own red eyes. "Believe me when I'm telling you that you're under Phobos' control, Wanda. He's lying to you and infected you with Rhea's poison. He intends on using you to kill us all just to steal the Heart of Kandrikar. I know the real you won't let that happen."

Wanda brought up her other hand to push him away, but he was much stronger than she was. And with his hand covering her mouth, she couldn't say the word needed to transform. Far from making her upset, she was angry at him. Yet at the same time, she was confused at the feelings that came up when she was near him, or saw him. A part of her didn't want this conflict, didn't want to see his wrath directed at her. Though she did not remember him at all or why he was so stubborn about this situation, something about her remembered his touch, and was drawn to those eyes of his.

Derek blinked, seeing a hint of recognition amongst all the confusion in her eyes. It was faint, but still there. He could hear footsteps, and knew he had to leave before he got caught.

"Keep this... don't throw it out." He said, placing the hair ribbon in her hand gently after removing his hand from her mouth.

She looked at the ribbon in her left hand, blinking. When she glanced back up at him, she noticed how close he really was to her.

"What the...?" She tried stepping back, but he reached forward once more. He grabbed her chin, and pulled her towards himself with a smile on his face.

He kissed her, with pressure behind the action. It was brief, because he heard the footsteps getting closer. But when he pulled away, she was blinking, flabbergasted at him and the gall he showed.

"Please remember everything, Wanda. Before it's too late." He said before running to the edge and jumping over.

"Hey!" She called out, but when she reached the edge, he was gone.

"M'lady... is there something wrong?" Cybele's voice came from behind.

"Uh...no. Just thought I saw something out there but it was nothing." Wanda smiled back at her, stowing her two objects in to the pockets of her dress before Cybele could see what they were.

Cybele smiled.

"Come on, then. I want to show you the gardens." She said, running over to her and grabbing her by the arm.

Derek had already reached the ground, having slid down the wall using the vine as a guide. He glanced back up, seeing Wanda walking away with the girl like nothing had happened. He sighed in annoyance. This was going to be harder than he thought. He ran his hands through his dark brown hair, before slipping away from the castle.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two: **

**The Nectar of a Flower **

"That was extremely dangerous going there on your own like that!" Cornelia's voice rang out in the condominium. She was livid that her son had gone to Phobos' castle without telling anyone what he was doing.

Cornelia wasn't the only one there. Caleb, Mimiru, Ingrid, Tress, Cerella, Matt, Will, HuiLing, Lilian, and Napoleon were all gathered there.

"Hey, Napoleon said that we had to keep reminding Wanda about who she is, and so on and so forth." Derek looked completely shameless as he crossed his arms, leaning against the wall, having been cornered by his mother, father, sister and friends upon his return.

"Ugh... why do men have to be so idiotic?" Ingrid sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Really... like barging up to Phobos' castle is going to achieve anything but proving to her you're a brash idiot who doesn't know how to stay alive?" HuiLing shook her head.

"At least it's better than sitting around waiting for you guys to come up with the cure for the poison Rhea made. I'm surprised you haven't found it with all of Earth's flowers that have medical benefits and such-" He was suddenly cut short.

"Wait a sec!" HuiLing jumped on the spot suddenly. "That's it! Derek, you're a genius! You don't show it much... But you are!" She pulled out the Heart of Kandrikar.

"What? What are you doing?" HayLin asked.

"EARTH FLOWERS!" HuiLing looked almost as exited as she had when she first became a Guardian. "Mom, there's gotta be a flower from Earth with some kind of medicinal property that we've yet looked at. I mean, if Lilian's a witch- no offense or anything-" She added at Lilian, who smiled as if to say 'none taken', "- Then there's got to be some kind of magical flower that's got the cure for Rhea's poison." She said all of this very fast without stopping for breath.

The group looked at each other.

"It's worth a shot." Matt nodded. "It's been days and the Oracle still hasn't found anything among their books."

"Then it's decided!" HuiLing said before anyone else could speak.

The next second, an explosion rocked the condominium building.

"What the-?" Tress ran to the window.

It was Wanda. She was flying in the air above the building.

"HuiLing-!" Tress looked over, and HuiLing nodded as though preparing herself for the worst.

"Guardians Unite!" HuiLing held up the crystal.

The five girls went up to the balcony, then lifted off in to the air.

"Wanda! What are you doing here?" Mimiru was the first to speak.

"What else? I came for the Heart of Kandrikar- QUINTESSENCE!" She called out, holding up the Crystal of Cepheus.

Mimiru flew in front of the group, her eyes narrowed in anger and stubbornness that she rarely showed. She balled her hands in to a fist as the violet lightning was aimed at the group. She brought her fists up, and directed them at the lightning. A blast that sounded like a canon went off, and what looked like the faintest of curved blades erupted from the fists. This attack blocked the violet lightning and went straight at Wanda, who used her Crystal to generate the transparent violet sphere-like shield around her.

HuiLing had had enough.

"Listen up, Wanda, it's ok for Phobos to use his magic to give you a hot outfit and souped up powers, but it's very rude for you to use that magic to try and kill us!" She screeched.

"Pardon?" Wanda blinked, tilting her head casually to one side when the protective barrier vanished.

"You heard me!" HuiLing snapped.

Wanda smirked.

"Quintessence." Wanda muttered.

The lamp post on the street was ripped from its foundation and rose up in to the air in front of her, violet lightning crackling all around it.

"I think she's serious..." Blinked Ingrid, eyes wide.

"Quick, Napoleon, Matt, we need you guys to make a huge glamor zone!" Lilian said at once. "That way no one can see what's happening."

"Already on it, toots." Napoleon said as he was transforming in to his humanoid form.

"Glamor zone, hm?" Blinked Wanda. It didn't matter to her. She wasn't after the citizens. "Pointless act."

She sent the post at HuiLing, who raised her own hands- palms facing towards the post.

"Quintessence!" Shouted HuiLing.

The post halted in mid air between the two. Cerella landed on the ground, a single hand flat on a block of cement, the other arm bent back as though she were lifting something heavy. Seconds later, a pillar of rock topped with a block of cement shot towards the sky, engulfing the post, forcing it to veer off course, crashing in to a tree. Cerella's eyes were narrowed in what was unmistakable anger.

Tress sent twelve fire arrows through the pillar from her spot in the air. The twelve arrows shot at Wanda, who frowned.

Wanda raised her crystal, this time not to generate the shield around herself, but to use it to counterattack. What looked like twelve bolts of lightning shot at the fire arrows. Explosions of fire erupted all around them.

From behind, without any sign that they had been there, came a wave of water. Fusagu stood there. He looked like he'd grown about five feet in the last week. He no longer looked like a child, though he still had his short white hair and blazing blue eyes.

"Fusagu!" Ingrid said with a bright smile as the water crashed in to Wanda.

"Wow... talk about growth spurts." Blinked Tress.

"The Oracle helped me figure out who I was and where I came from." Fusagu smiled. "I'll explain later." He added to the group as Wanda fell to the ground.

Wanda slowly got up to her feet just as HuiLing ran over to her. She shot a powerful blast of violet lightning at HuiLing, who let out a yell and barely managed to dodge the attack. She got to her feet.

"You think you can take advantage of me while I'm down?" She growled.

"No... We're trying to help you, you've gotta believe us!" HuiLing looked alarmed at the face Wanda had.

"Right... You and the tooth fairy." Snarled Wanda, raising her crystal.

Derek blinked at the crystal. That was the source of Wanda's current powers. He unsheathed his sword, resigned to the fact that he had to fight her, and ran forward

"You..." Wanda glared.

"NOW!" Derek shouted at Matt, who by now had transformed in to Shegon.

Shegon took to the air, sending a blast of energy from his eyes at her, and at that moment Derek threw his sword at her wrist.

Wanda let out a yell when the bolts reached her, before she had time to generate the shield. At that moment, Derek's sword reached her wrist, cutting it as it flew just above it. She was forced to let go as blood started flowing. The sword was lodged in to the tree that currently had a street light post sticking out of it at a weird angle. She held her wrist, the side that had the cut in it, as the Crystal fell to the ground.

Everyone who was present watched tensely. It seemed like time was going slowly as the Crystal of Cepheus hit the ground. The Crystal flashed violently when it was separated from Wanda, who stared. For a long moment, she said nothing. Then she looked up.

"Dad?" She blinked at Shegon.

The Crystal flashed as it raised from the ground. She looked back at it, her own eyes wide.

"Wanda!" HuiLing shouted as the Crystal generated a sphere around her once more, and vanished in a brilliant white light.

"So long as Phobos has control over that Crystal, he's got control over her." Napoleon walked over to the group with a solemn expression on his face.

"But the fact that she recognized her Dad means that there still is hope." HuiLing looked up. For a split second, she looked like she'd been on the verge of tears. "So let's get to Kandrikar, already!" She added as Napoleon reverted back to his cat form.

"I suppose it is possible that Earth could have a remedy for Rhea's poison." The Oracle said thoughtfully, his chin resting in his hand as he heard HuiLing's idea. "There are thousands of mystical plants and flowers on your world, just like any other. But Earth's flowers have more... powerful properties to them than other worlds."

"So it might work?" HuiLing looked hopeful.

"It might. But if we do find the plant with the cure, getting it will be the next big step." The Oracle warned, looking at them. "We'll need Lilian's help, as well as Cerella's once we figure out if there are indeed any flowers with the proper healing properties."

"Yeah, then all we have to do is get near enough to administer the antidote... No problems with that considering the last few attempts we've tried getting at her." Ingrid rolled her eyes, her voice full of sarcasm.

"In the meantime, Fusagu, care to tell us how come you're not a squirt anymore?" Asked Cerella.

Fusagu smiled at the comment.

"Well, technically, I'm not from Earth or Meridian." He said. It was strange to Ingrid to be looking at Fusagu as a teenager just like they were now, when before he barely went up to their waist. "I'm from the same planet that the Crystal of Cepheus came from..."

"You mean-" HuiLing stared.

"Yeah, looking at the last Heir to Eridanus." He shrugged as though this meant nothing.

"So... where's your mom and dad? They aren't..." Ingrid blinked.

"Dead? Not sure yet. Still got loads of work to do in that category. But at least I know who I am for sure." Shrugged Fusagu. He gave Ingrid a strange look. "My people apparently grew with their maturity levels. Before I met you, I was a selfish ignorant brat working for Phobos. But then you and Wanda gave me a second chance. I've learned so much since then. And when the Oracle found the information reguarding Eridanus, I changed. I owe you and Wanda more than my life for what you've done for me."

"Well, glad to have you on board as an honorary guardian then!" HuiLing piped up cheerfully.

"Good thing Earthlings grow according to age, not maturity. Otherwise HuiLing would still be as short as you were." Napoleon's voice came from the door.

"What was that you talking cat?" HuiLing snapped.

"Nothing, nothing." Napoleon stretched his back.

"So... how old are you, really?" Asked Ingrid out of curiosity.

"The Oracle reckons I'm about eighteen since Eridanus went poof around my first birthday." Blinked Fusagu in surprise at the question.

"Older indeed." Ingrid said with a grin.

"Shameless flirt." Tress commented, knowing that look in Ingrid's eyes only too well.

Ingrid's face went bright red and she laughed, scratching the back of her head.

"Watch it, I think HuiLing's stubbornly cheerful attitude might be contagious." Will commented.

Cybelle was helping to mend Wanda's wrist that had been cut during the battle.

"It's a good thing the Crystal brought you back when it did." Cybelle smiled at Wanda.

The two were in Phobos' throne room, with Phobos sitting on his throne overlooking what was going on.

"They nearly got you this time." Sighed Cybelle. She had Wanda's hand in her left, while the right hovered over the wounded wrist. A faint blue light was coming from her palm, engulfing the wound in a warm light as the cut slowly faded away.

"Tell me about Fusagu's transformation, Wanda." Phobos instructed in a tone of forced calm.

"Well... he was taller... more like that son of the traitor, Derek. Compared to your descriptions of how short he was before." She replied. "He said something about the Oracle helping him figure out who he really was, where he was from. But didn't go in to much detail apart from that."

"So the heir to Eridanus has been found..." Phobos muttered thoughtfully.

"Eridanus, majesty?" Blinked Wanda.

"Never mind that... Cybelle, if you are all done now, the Lady should go rest. She has had a busy day." Phobos waved his hand, a clear dismissal.

Cybelle nodded at Wanda, who bowed to Phobos, waved at Cybelle, and left. The Crystal of Cepheus was still around her neck, and her hand felt much better. Before it was healed, it stung fiercely and she lost rather a lot of blood. She was thinking about what happened during the fight. She'd gone there to catch the Guardians off guard, in order to steal the Heart of Kandrikar. It had not worked, instead it backfired. She was also confused. Derek claimed to love her, so why had he attacked her during that battle? She had not told anyone of his visit to the castle the previous day, but she was wondering if she should.

She changed in to a light violet night gown that trailed to the floor, and had a v-neck line. Sitting next to the edge of her balcony, she looked out over the swamplands of Meridian, bathed in moonlight and having an eerie blue-green glow. It had been a crazy day to say the least. Finally things were calming down for her to get a breather in.

It had been many hours while the group waited for Will, Lillian, HuiLing and the Oracle to come out of the library, but finally HuiLing came bursting out.

"Found it!" She said before the adults could say anything. "The cure is a rare, magical Lily." She looked over at the Oracle who held a giant, ancient-looking book in his hands. "The Lily is called the MoonStone Water Lily and it's only found in Hawaii."

The Oracle showed them what it looked like in the book. The Lily was the size of a large saucer with three rows of small petals that had an eerie electric blue glow, and the nectar stems in the center were a bright white color with a hint of yellow. The leaves of it seemed to reflect the blue glow of the flower petals as it floated in the lake water.

"So this means we get a trip to Hawaii?" Cerella looked thrilled at the prospect. "Great! I can finally try on the outfit I've had in mind for a beach trip!"

"This isn't going to be for fun, you know." Matt sighed at how oblivious Cerella could be to a situation.

"I know, but that still doesn't mean we can't look our best for it, right?" Cerella flipped her hair with her right hand.

"Well... Now that you mention it, I do have a beach-side outfit to wear for the trip." Ingrid started in as well on the subject.

"We could really let loose." Tress nodded fervently.

"And spend some time on the sandy beaches AFTER we get the Lily flower!" HuiLing raised her hand as though she were in class suggesting something for a festival.

"Then it's settled! We'll get the Lily, then have some fun on Hawaii's beaches!" Will nodded, she would let them have some fun so long as they got their work done first. After all, she'd never been to Hawaii herself, and the girls were still just kids.

"I'll have to go through some of Cerella's magazines to find the perfect outfit." Mimiru smiled. She hadn't seen much of the Earth except for Heatherfield. So she couldn't pass up the chance for more exploration of her new home world.

"Well, we should head back now, one way or another." Caleb noted Matt's irritation at all the girls' excitement over a trip to Hawaii.

"Remember to return here when you have the Lily." The Oracle said before the group vanished from Kandrikar.

"So, how are we going to get there?" Asked Ingrid.

"We fly. It would be too risky to fold there. I'm going to get plane tickets when we get back to the house." Cornelia smiled.

"We'll head there this weekend. It's only a few days away. That way you won't have to miss any school." Matt suggested, and Cornelia and Will nodded.

"Sweet. I'm going to get packing." Ingrid smirked.

"Should I tell Stevie?" HuiLing wondered out loud.

"Probably, I mean, he's practically your boyfriend." Smiled Tress.

HuiLing's face went pink.

The next day, the group was gathered at the school next to their lockers.

"So you're going to Hawaii for the weekend?" Stevie blinked in wonderment at the five- HuiLing, Cerella, Tress, Ingrid and Derek. HuiLing nodded.

"Yeah. We're getting the key ingredient for the cure for the poison that's controlling Wanda." HuiLing spoke as though she couldn't have been more exited about a Sailor Moon movie release.

Cerella blinked when a boy walked by their group.

"Odin!" She called out, and he stopped, turning. Today Odin was wearing a blue shirt with white trimming on the sleeves, with a v-neck line. His pants were black slacks, and his shoes were white tennis-shoes.

"What's up?" He asked her, a look of surprise on his face that she was willing to talk to him again.

"I'm going to Hawaii this weekend and will have some free time when I get back. It's going to be spring break the week after next, so what say we go to a movie or something?" Cerella suggested.

"You mean, like a date or whatever?" Blinked Odin, his dark eyes looking at her as though he'd never seen her properly.

"Sure!" She smiled, flipping her hair around. "I mean, if you want to."

Odin's face broke in to a smile, and Cerella blinked, her cheeks going a light shade of pink.

"Talk about fast." Ingrid commented as the two discussed details of the time and place they were going to.

"Well, she's always inherited her Mother's way with words." Derek looked like he couldn't care less. Especially since the person he'd like to take out was currently being controlled by the enemy, and hated him right now. And he'd known her since he was a small boy first getting used to going back and forth between Earth and Meridian. He would make sure that she knew she was still loved, and wanted by her friends and family. He shook his head, grabbing his books and going to his first class of the day, even if he was hardly attentive in the lesson.

HuiLing sustained herself from skipping out of class by keeping in mind that it was only a few days until they were going to Hawaii to find the Lily that had the cure for Rhea's poison, and then they would be able to get her best friend back. And the fact that her mother would ground her for life if she even tried skipping out. Though she couldn't help but smile at the possibilities if she did.

Finally, early Saturday morning arrived, and Cerella was woken rather rudely by her alarm clock at three A.M. She glared at it for a long time, her normally long straight golden hair was sticking up at odd ends, as if she'd slept on it wrong. Her pink nightdress- which had a v neck line, and straps for the shoulders- looked ruffled as well. She managed to reach over and shut off the annoying thing, before getting out of bed to walk over to her dresser with an arched mirror, that had gold trim along the edges. After staring a long time in the mirror, she grabbed her brush and started straightening out the long tangles.

By the time her hair was in order,she being rushed by her parents who were yelling at her and Derek to get moving or they will miss the air plane. Because it was chilly outside, she chose to wear a simple long sleeved blue shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. Underneath the shirt was a pink tank top for when they got to Hawaii. She had her cases with her clothes for the trip in hand as she went in to the living room, where she saw a very groggy and tired looking Derek leaning against the wall.

Derek was wearing a black t-shirt with a u-neck, dark blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. Around his waist was the jacket he normally wore when out and about in Meridian. Derek looked at Cerella with a raised eyebrow.

"We're only going for a couple of days, you know." He commented. He only had two cases himself.

"A girl's gotta look her best in Hawaii." Cerella flipped her hair around imperiously as Caleb and Cornelia walked to the door.

HuiLing was staring around at the drowsy, clouded looks on the faces of her friends. She herself was bright and cheerful this morning with the thought of what they were about to do. Standing outside the Heatherfield International Airport, she spun around, enjoying the lights from all the traffic and how they lit up the night sky.

"Come on! Why so tired and gloomy, everyone?" She asked.

"Do us a favor, HuiLing-" Ingrid yawned, HuiLing blinked. "And shut up." Ingrid had her hair up in a small ocean blue knot, wore a strapless and sleeveless ocean blue shirt, a blue skirt, and blue dress shoes.

"Cranky, cranky." HuiLing waggled her index finger at her friend. "This won't do for a trip to Hawaii and getting our best friend back." HuiLing wore a bright teal blue Chinese style t-shirt with golden dragons all over in a seemingly random pattern. She had on black mini-shorts, and a pair of teal blue tennis shoes with white socks.

Tress failed to stifle a huge yawn as they walked to the check in line, where Will, Matt, Cornelia, HayLin, Irma, and Taranee were going through the sign in processes. Most of the fathers were staying behind- except for Matt and Caleb- due to work complications.

Tress wore her own hair back in an orange head band, which showed her own black hair was nearly waist length when it hung loose. She wore a white t-shirt with a v-neck, and over that an orange tank-top with a v-neck line. She also wore black mini-shorts and dark brown sandals so that she was prepared for the weather in Hawaii later that morning.

HuiLing got a lot of stares and smiles from the clerks that morning, as many wondered how she could be so energetic at three a.m.

At one point, HuiLing paused. She saw a girl looking out the window at the air plane traffic who looked just like Wanda. But it couldn't have been.

"What's up?" Asked HayLin, spotting the look on her daughter's face.

HuiLing blinked, and the girl had gone the moment she tried to get a better look at her.

"Nothing, just thought I saw someone." She smiled back at her mother.

Wanda had been following the group on Phobos' orders, since early that morning. She was told to stop them from getting a certain flower from Hawaii, because that would mean major setbacks in his plans. She dressed herself in a purple sweater, blue jean pants, and white tennis shoes, with the strands of hair that usually hung over her right shoulder in a braid with the ribbon the boy Derek had given her. No one had asked about it in Meridian, so she saw no problem wearing it. The rest of her hair hung loose behind her back.

She glanced over at the group on occasion. But she tried avoiding it. The more she watched them, the more confused and angry she became. She didn't understand the longing to go running up to those people, or the need to restrain herself from getting any closer than she was. She managed to avoid being seen for the most part, but there had been near sightings. And when she looked at HuiLing, she felt a strange ache inside her, as if something wanted to laugh, run around with her like they once did. She blinked at that thought. Once did? Did she ever play with these girls before now? She didn't think so, Phobos had told her once she came around that it was all part of his plan to send her, but things went awry and she ended up loosing her memories because of those girls.

She agreed to tail them and stop them from getting to that flower because she needed to know the truth about them, and this was the only way to do it. That boy, Derek, had risked everything just to come up to see her. She went through the check in and security process for the air plane without difficulties, and got on, sitting nearby the group, looking out the window in silence while she thought about everything that had been going on in her head.

Derek glanced back, having a strange feeling there were eyes on him, and he blinked rapidly several times. Wanda was sitting behind them staring out the window. There was no mistaking that ribbon in her hair, or the way she acted like she wasn't following them. He poked Matt's shoulder, and Matt glanced in the direction Derek was looking.

"I know. She's been following us all morning. Probably sent by Phobos to try and stop us." He sighed in an undertone.

"What if she manages to succeed?" Derek asked, glancing back again.

"I'll keep her busy. You guys just have to worry about getting that flower, and getting it back to the Oracle." Matt replied quietly, keeping his voice low so Wanda wouldn't hear them. He hated having to act like this around his own daughter, but right now he had no choice. It was this, or have Wanda stop them entirely mid-flight and take a bunch of innocent lives with them. He didn't want that on her conscience when she came back to their side. He knew that would be too much for her to realize and comprehend.

Derek nodded, before pulling out his iPod Touch to listen to his music during the long flight to Hawaii.

HuiLing had her own iPod out, with headphones plugged in, and was watching videos on YouTube, finding that more entertaining than just listening to music. Ingrid had a thick novel out that she was halfway through, and Tress was on her laptop computer with her mother leaning over to see the things her daughter was working on- a design for a pot she was making. Will was leaning back in her chair, her music up to maximum in her headphones, and pretending she didn't notice her daughter behind the group. Irma had a magazine out with knitting patterns that she was looking at with Cornelia, and Cerella was on her laptop looking at the latest in fashion designs to wear in Hawaii. HayLin sat on her daughter's right side, with an iPod plugged in to her ears, and a book on Chinese painting techniques that she had her nose buried in. Matt pulled out his own laptop, with headphones, and started messing around on his computer, spending the long hours putting together a tune for a song he'd been working on with Wanda before she'd been kidnapped by Phobos. Every now and then, he would take a glance at his daughter, then went back to work.

Finally, the pilot came on to the intercom.

"If you look out your windows in five minutes we will be approaching Hawaii International Airport." He said.

Nearly everyone looked up from what they were doing at that time, to stare out of their windows and see the islands as they were approaching them.

The islands looked like various gems in a blue ocean that stretched out for miles around them. As the plane got closer, they could make out the rain-forests, the towns and cities, as well as the National parks and some of the wealthier looking homes on the mountains.

Wanda followed the group off the airplane, through the ramp and in to the building. Around her neck hung the Crystal of Cepheus, underneath the collar of her shirt.

Later, after the families were all settled in to their hotels, Cerella had changed herself in to her tank-top, a pink flared mini skirt, and white dress shoes. Ingrid didn't need to change herself, since she dressed before hand in to the outfit she wanted to wear, and HuiLing now wore a teal blue tank-top, a simple blue mini skirt, and her dark brown sandals. Tress had her hair held back in an orange head band, with a carnation pinned to it, but other than that she didn't need to change.

Lillian was already in Hawaii, waiting for them to meet at the National Park entrance to help them find the Moon Flower Lilly.

"Just wait... after we get that flower, we're going to spend some time on those beaches!" Cerella said excitedly as she put on a pair of pink shades. Ingrid's sunglasses were tinted blue, Tress' were orange, and HuiLing's were sky blue. Derek's shades were black with a simple silver half-frame.

"So beautiful here!" Ingrid commented as they got in to their rental van. It wasn't hard to see that the girls were enjoying the ride- Matt was driving- on the way to the National Park entrance.

"Look, there's Lillian!" Cornelia pointed to a girl with short golden yellow hair, wearing a flowery pink summer dress, with a white and pink streaked Lilly flower in her hair.

"We have until nightfall, so for now, let's just have fun. I want to show you around to some of the hotspots on this island." She smiled when the group reached her. "Nightfall is the best time to harvest the Lilly. It's in full bloom, and if you pick it at a precise time, it will not close. The nectar will be easiest to retrieve then." Lillian explained at the quizzical look on HuiLing's face. "Now come on." She smiled.

She led the way in to the National Park area of Killowea island. She spent most of the day showing them why it was one of the best islands to study Volcanoes in the United States currently, and Tress was the most interested, having her camera phone out and taking pictures of various steam vents, exposed magma tubes, or spots of cooling lava on the surface without getting too close because on many occasions, her camera phone threatened to melt in her hands.

"That's why Volcanologists go through so much equipment when on the field." Giggled Lillian.

"Ugh...my feet are killing me!" Cerella complained, having been walking along the barren rock that was still hot in random places in only her sandals. "If I'd have known we were going to be volcano tromping, I'd worn something more suitable."

"Quit your whining. This is fun!" Tress said excitedly, bending over and looking in to an open underground magma tube. She didn't feel the heat like the others did, they kept their distance while she was able to go right up. She figured that was part of her Guardian powers, since Magma was the molten liquid version of fire. She'd never felt more at home than right now, walking along the volcano surface.

"Can't we go somewhere where the surface isn't nearly two thousand degrees Fahrenheit?" Asked Ingrid, who had sweat coming down her face.

"It's not the surface that's so hot, it's the magma below us." Tress said in a matter of fact tone of voice that earned her a few glares from her friends. Lillian stood to one side, a small smile on her face.

"I have a surprise for you guys. If you'll follow me, it should be ready." Lillian spoke up, and the girls all nodded eagerly.

The parents watched as Lillian took charge.

"So nice to have a free babysitter handy sometimes." Smiled Cornelia.

"Parents are coming too." Lillian said in a 'that is final' way.

Cornelia glared at Lillian, and how quickly she caught on.

Lillian led the way back to the cars, then took the drivers' seat normally occupied by Matt. She drove the family and their friends around the island, then in to the rain forested areas. At the head of a trail, she stopped.

"We walk from here, but it will be worth it." Lillian explained as they were grabbing their things out of the cars- backpacks with water bottles.

The trail was surrounded on either side by tropical trees and plants, and slowly but steadily sloped upward. After an hour of walking- and enduring Cerella's complaints about her feet aching- there was a collective gasp from the five teenage girls.

They had walked in to an oasis that Lillian had found, with a lilly pond, gazebo, and a black sand bank that wrapped around the edge of the pond. The lilies in the pond weren't in a blooming stage, and very well closed up, looking like soft-ball sized green egg-shaped pods sitting on green lilly pads on the water.

"We can hang out here for the rest of the day. I've already taken the liberty of getting dinner going in the pit." Lillian pointed at what looked like a whole hog roasting in a giant fire pit.

"Sweet! I'm glad we brought our things from the cars then!" Ingrid said excitedly.

The group whiled away the hours quietly. Matt took off his shirt and laid himself in the sun, with a pair of black sunglasses over his eyes as he napped, arms folded behind his back. While Caleb leaned against a tree. Cerella had her newest magazine out, with Mimiru leaning over her shoulders reading what was in the magazines as well. Ingrid was busy with her book and headphones, HuiLing was admiring the Gazebo with her mother. Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Lillian were all next to the water gossiping.

Derek was keeping to himself for the most part, sitting next to his father with a thick novel that he'd been reading for a least a month and was only halfway through it because lately whenever he tried reading, nothing seemed to stick. He knew what the problem was, though. It wasn't hard to figure out. It was also why this scene seemed to be lacking something that would make it perfect. He felt a pang of guilt when he thought about Wanda, and how he could imagine HuiLing literally dragging the girl over to the gazebo, or to the water edge to admire the flowers even though they weren't in bloom. In a few short hours, they were going to be able to get a couple of those flowers and take them back to the Oracle.

Nightfall slowly approached, as did supper time. When Matt didn't wake up after Will tried shaking him at the shoulders, Ingrid sent a small splash of water over his face. He shot up, coughing and spluttering as Ingrid, Tress, Cerella, Mimiru and HuiLing rolled with laughter.

"Next time just prod me or something." Matt wiped his forehead.

"I tried that, dear." Will was smiling rather broadly, herself.

"At least he doesn't wake the dead when he sleeps like Captain Snores-a-lot." Cornelia commented, jabbing her thumb behind her at Caleb, who looked up at the comment.

Ingrid doubled over in a fit of snorts and giggles at Cornelia's comment.

Evening came rather fast that day, it felt like. And after everyone was full from the roasted hog, and the other aspects of the traditional Hawaiian meal- the Poi remained untouched by the group- they turned to the pond. The moon was steadily rising in to the skies, and the lilies were slowly starting to bloom, revealing their etherial blue petals with each step.

"Well, it's about time." HuiLing looked up at the skies as stars started twinkling in to existence.

"Finally... this wait is about over..." Cerella flipped her hair around as she set her magazine down.

"Ready?" HuiLing looked around, and Cerella, Tress, Ingrid and Mimiru all nodded.

"QUINTESSENCE!" A voice roared from above, as a shower of black lightning shot from its source.

Wanda was up in the air, above the oasis, already transformed with the Crystal of Cepheus in her hands.

Shrieks filled the air as the lightning was charged by the pond water, becoming even more powerful than before.

"HuiLing! Guardian us up now!" Mimiru shouted.

"Right!" HuiLing nodded. The second the attack faded away, she pulled out the Heart of Kandrikar. "Guardians Unite!" She cried, holding it up.

There were five multicolored flashes of light, that turned in to spheres which engulfed HuiLing, Cerella, Ingrid, Tress and Mimiru.

"Cerella, Ingrid, you two go get a couple of flowers. Tress, Mimiru, Derek, we will take care of Wanda." HuiLing said with a conviction, like she was preparing for the worst in this fight this time.

A smile appeared over Wanda's face when HuiLing flew up in to the air above the rest.

"HuiLing!" HayLin shouted in alarm.

"I know my best friend is in there somewhere. And I'm going to fight until she's found again." HuiLing frowned at Wanda.

"Quite the speech, but can you really live up to your big words?" Asked Wanda, raising her Crystal.

"You'll see just how strong we really are." HuiLing's black eyes were alight with a fire that was rarely there. Her plan was to keep Wanda distracted from the pond with the Moonflower Lilies.

Mimiru and Tress looked at each other, shrugged, and flew up to meet HuiLing on either side of their friend. Who right now looked ready to kill. It was odd seeing HuiLing behaving like this, as if she had come to the conclusion that talking would do no good at this stage.

Matt nodded over at Derek, who returned the gesture. Matt then clenched his fists, transforming in to Shegon in an instant. No doubt there was more than just Wanda here, and they needed to be careful. It wasn't like Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia or HayLin could fight anymore. At least he still had his Regent of Earth powers. He walked over to Ingrid and Cerella, who were preparing themselves for whatever the lake had to offer them.

Wanda looked out of her balcony window, being nursed to health by her friend.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three: **

**The Guardians' Task **

"I'll go first." Said Ingrid. Cerella and Shegon nodded.

"Be careful!" Irma's worried voice came from the side.

"Don't worry Mom, I inherited your strength and will power." Ingrid smirked back with a wink.

Lillian was strangely quiet through all of this.

Ingrid turned back to the lake, facing it with conviction on her face. Then she took a step in to the water.

Immediately something started happening. The water which had been smooth and crystal clear moments before was moving with waves that rippled and shook the flowers around the surface. In the center of the lake rose a rotating pillar of water, which then fell back in to the lake after it reached the height of a human being.

"I am the Guardian of the Moonflower Lilies found only on this island." The figure said as it took form, revealing that of a woman. "Why have you come to disturb the peace in this oasis?" She was tall, with brown hair held up in two braided buns on either side of her head. Three shoulder length braids hung on either side from the buns. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green that seemed to glow. Her shirt was ultramarine blue, with long bell sleeves and pink trim on the v-neck line as well as the sleeves, and she had a pink crisscross halter top in the front. Her skirt was knee length, with two layers in flower petal or a wave form. The top layer was pink, with the bottom being ultramarine blue. The slit in her skirt in the front to the left made it look like flower petals because of how light the fabric really was and the top of the skirt was lined with the straps of fabric in the shape of two crescent moons facing each other right around her belly button. She wore light green and dark green striped tights like the Guardians of Meridian, and her shoes were knee length, pink boots. Her wings were like Wanda's current, larger wings. Her skin was pale peach, and she looked like she didn't have a tan even though she lived in Hawaii.

"Please, we need the nectar of the Moonflower Lilies to save our friend." Cerella said as calmly as she could. This woman had to be a former Guardian of some kind, judging by her outfit.

"Ah..." The woman looked up to see the stand off currently taking place between Tress, Mimiru, HuiLing and Wanda. "But I cannot simply give you the flowers." The woman said.

"What?" Exclaimed Ingrid, almost indignantly.

"As the keeper of this special flower, I must see that you are indeed worthy of taking it from here." The woman smiled kindly. "My name is Galena Foteini. If you can give me your names, and defeat me in a fair battle, Guardians, then I will be willing to give you all the Moonflowers that you need."

"Ingrid Tubbs." Smiled Ingrid, seeing the logic in Galena's statements.

"Cerella Hale." Nodded Cerella. "But if you don't mind me asking, how is two against one counted as fair?"

Galena smiled, a simple yet sweet thing from her.

"Don't you worry about that. Now... Let's get started, shall we?" Smiled Galena once more.

She raised her right hand, and Cerella and Ingrid tensed up at once. Two pillars of water came from the pond without disturbing the flowers this time.

"A water user...?" Blinked Ingrid, raising up her own right hand, directing the palm at Galena.

At that same time in the skies, Wanda finally broke the standoff that she was having with the three guardians. Raising her Crystal of Cepheus, and sending a large wave of violet lightning not at HuiLing, but at Mimiru, who was forced to dodge out of the way and send a giant tornado at Wanda.

Tress took advantage of Wanda's distraction by sending at least twenty fire arrows at her.

Wanda gave a small smile, before bringing up her Crystal in a great sweeping motion in front of her, causing violet lightning to streak around like a whip that met with the tornado, then the fire arrows- which caused at least half a dozen explosions.

Next thing the girls knew, they saw Wanda flying through the smoke and fire at them, her eyes narrowed as she focussed on HuiLing now.

HuiLing held up her hands- there was no time for incantations- then sent a wall of white lightning at Wanda the same moment she brought up her whip of violet lightning.

There was a brilliant flash of white and violet.

"Girls... I hope you don't mind a change in plans..." HuiLing said, looking at Wanda who had pulled back to figure out a new strategy of attack. "But I think this should be between the two of us."

Tress and Mimiru looked at each other, then nodded with understanding expressions on their faces.

"We'll be here for back up if you need it, though." Mimiru put a hand briefly on HuiLing's shoulders before flying over to be next to Tress.

"Thanks... But I won't. I know Wanda... She's my best friend. This can't last forever." HuiLing mumbled, before her eyes snapped back over to Wanda.

"Are you done talking? This is getting dull already." Huffed Wanda, who indeed looked bored.

It was time for HuiLing to use this power how she used her original element- Air. Now that she was more comfortable with Quintessential power, she was able to switch back to her original fighting style. She balled her right hand in to a fist, before white lightning hissed and crackled in to existence around it. If she could just get at the Crystal of Cepheus, there might be a chance at freeing her friend from Phobos' control.

Wanda's eyes went wide momentarily in surprise when she saw HuiLing flying right at her this time, instead of waiting to be attacked. The sound the lightning made in her hand was deafening as the Chinese girl flew through the air at top speed. This time Wanda was forced to block, as the black sphere appeared around her.

HuiLing didn't stop her attack though, just because the protective sphere formed around Wanda. She put even more strength behind her fist as violet lightning erupted around the protective sphere, sparking and hissing as the girls fought in midair. Slowly, HuiLing felt she was making progress. But that progress wasn't fast enough for her liking. She could see the Crystal of Cepheus glowing a bright violet light as lightning of the same color erupted around her.

Galena looked at Ingrid and Cerella, who were both fighting rather well. Cerella bent to a kneeling position on the ground, with one palm on the black sand. Seconds later vines came shooting up out of the water, forcing Galena to the sky as the thick green vines threatened to wrap around and strangle her.

As Galena rose, so did the water without disturbing the lilies. She sent a giant wave at the pair of girls.

Ingrid acted fast, bringing up her hands as though lifting something heavy. At the last second when the water was about to smash in to the two girls, it froze in midair, before shooting back at Galena, who was forced to summon another pillar. The two water attacks collided in mid air, causing water to shower down on them all.

"Thanks for that... I needed that shower." Mumbled Cerella. In her temper, she directed her left hand- still in the kneeling position- at a nearby coconut tree. The tree rose out of the ground, then shot at Galena. "I'll show you just how dangerous coconuts can really be..." She lifted her other hand off the ground, as the tree continued flying at Galena, who's eyes were wide in alarm. Having a giant coconut tree with coconuts still attached was not her idea of a good time.

"Volleyball, Cerella style." Ingrid couldn't resist the comment as some of the coconuts came flying off, nearly hitting some of the bystanders.

Galena bent her arm back, before raising it like it was a windmill, stopping halfway through the spin. What looked like about a dozen whips of needle sharp water went zooming at the oncoming projectile, then sliced through the tree.

Cerella smiled as the tree split in to dozens of chunks upon contact with the sharp water whips. She prevented the chunks from falling all around, then sent them at Galena once more this time forcing Galena to swerve and spin to avoid being struck by the flying pieces of debris.

"Nothing wrong with dodgeball, is there?" Smiled Cerella. "Sports are fun in Hawaii."

"So long as you don't try hitting your family again." Ingrid commented.

"Sorry bout that." She glanced back at her parents before looking back at Galena.

There was a ground shaking explosion from above that caused everyone down below to stop what they were doing, and look up.

HuiLing had managed to finally break through the shield after several minutes of being electrocuted by the violet lightning. She had burns all over her body from the attacks, but she looked quite satisfied with herself as she looked at Wanda- who was staring with an unreadable expression on her face. HuiLing still had her hand up, even though the lightning had faded completely.

Wanda had sweat coming down her forehead, and she was paler than usual as she looked at HuiLing, managing to mask the surprise at her shield being broken through. HuiLing was stronger than she'd given the girl credit for. The moment of surprise ended quickly, however, when HuiLing resumed attacking. She wondered why she sensed sorrow from the girl as they fought, since they had never been friends before now. But then again, perhaps this girl didn't take quite such an enjoyment out of battle than she did. That had to be it.

Galena stared up at the Crystal Wanda held in her hands. There was something she didn't like about it. Then she remembered.

"The Crystal of Cepheus...!" She growled. "So Phobos is using it to control your friend?" She asked.

"Yes. As well as some kind of poison from one of his warriors, Rhea." Nodded Cerella, seeing a moment.

"I see..." Galena looked saddened when she thought about everything that had transpired since she was last a real Guardian of Kandrikar. She regained control of herself, and looked at the two before her. "This changes nothing... if you can defeat me, then you can take the flowers that you need."

Cerella and Ingrid nodded, preparing for round two. This time Ingrid didn't wait for Galena to attack. She bent down, then flew along the water surface right at Galena, as what looked like over a thousand needles of water shot up around her, and shot at the woman.

Galena knew those needles would mean bad business should they touch her. She brought up a wall of water around her like a large shield and watched through the water as the needles made contact, sounding like dozens of loud water droplets landing on a lake. She then sent the wave right at Ingrid in return.

Cerella in the meantime bent down on both knees, placing both palms of her hands on the black sand. A low rumbling shook the Earth beneath them, and made the water in the pond tremble. What looked like a wall of black sand rose up around her, then shot towards Galena while avoiding Ingrid. She had to end this fight quickly if they were going to succeed.

With the attacks from both Ingrid and Cerella aimed right at her, Galena had no options for ducking for cover. There was a loud crash, a shriek, and when Cerella brought the sand back to its original place along the beach side of the pond, Galena was kneeling on the water, out of breath and bleeding from dozens of scratches.

"You have bested me..." She mumbled. "I must be rusty. I haven't been disturbed like this in many decades." She smiled. "Take what you need, Guardians."

Cerella and Ingrid were blinking. Had Galena let them win? No, she had held her own against the girls rather well.

"Thank you!" Cerella gave her best smile. The moon was high up in the sky by now, as Ingrid waded in to the pond, and looked around at all the Moonflower Lilies. She too went in to the water to look around at their options.

Cerella found one near the center of the pond, which was the largest, with the thickest petals. Ingrid picked one nearby. They cradled the flowers carefully in their hands and looked up at the battle going on.

"HuiLing! We have them!" Ingrid called.

"Great!" HuiLing said, ducking a blast of violet lightning from Wanda as Tress sent a pillar of fire at the girl. "As soon as we're done here, we can get to Kandrikar and give the Oracle the flowers." HuiLing looked at Wanda. They'd managed to keep her busy long enough that Cerella and Ingrid got the flowers they needed.

"You're not getting anywhere with those things!" Exclaimed Wanda in rage as she looked down. She bent her free hand towards the ground below. "Quintessence!" She hissed, and violet lightning shot down at the pond, before expanding and striking everyone in the oasis.

"I'll be so glad when she stops using that against us!" Will had her hands up over her face in order to keep it from getting struck by the lightning.

"Ditto." Irma agreed nearby.

HuiLing had had enough of Wanda attacking everyone. She brought her hand in an under-hand swing like she was throwing a baseball, but instead she was throwing white lightning. It hit Wanda square in the stomach, before engulfing her.

The violet lightning soon stopped after that attack. And with a final glare at HuiLing, she vanished through a portal made by the Crystal of Cepheus.

"Phew..." Mimiru sighed.

"Let's get these to Kandrikar straight away." Cerella said, as she and Ingrid flew up to the rest of the group. "We'll be back in a bit, mom." She looked down at the adults, who looked relieved that no one had gotten severely hurt in that fight.

"I'll go with you." Shegon said, flying up to them as HuiLing swiped the Heart of Kandrikar through mid air, creating a glowing portal for them to pass through.

"Well done, Guardians." The Oracle took the flowers carefully from each of them when he came to greet them. "It will take two days to make the antidote. So until then, I suggest you rest and relax yourselves. You've earned a break."

"Sweet!" Ingrid couldn't help herself with that exclamation.

"Wanda was there, trying to stop them. It won't be easy to administer the antidote with her so steeped under Phobos' control." Shegon commented.

"Yes... your real fight is yet to begin..." Agreed the Oracle.

"But until then, let's relax and get our strength back up. We still have another whole day left at Hawaii!" Cerella said excitedly.

"Yes. I shall summon you when it is time." Nodded the Oracle with a small smile.

HuiLing was strangely quiet. She didn't feel that this battle was such a victory, being forced to fight her best friend wasn't the best feeling in the world, and she also hurt her. Which would make their case even harder to prove on their end, that they really did care enough that they wanted to risk everything to get her back.

"Well, let's get going. It's been a long day." HuiLing yawned, and the others nodded.

When they returned back to the oasis in Hawaii, then to their hotel rooms.

"Make sure to get plenty of sleep. We're getting up bright and early tomorrow."

The next morning, HuiLing was woken up by her mother HayLin at six a.m., and a grumbling HuiLing sat up in her hotel room bed.

"Make sure to have your bathing suit on. We're going to the ocean today." HayLin smiled.

HuiLing flopped backwards back in to her bed, then five minutes later HayLin came in to check on her.

"DON'T GO BACK TO SLEEP!" She roared, causing HuiLing to jump and fall out of her bed, tangled in the bed sheets.

When everyone was awake- if not alert- and gathered outside the hotel, Lillian-who had been waiting outside for them- announced that she was taking them to one of the black sand beaches in Hawaii owned by the Hale family.

"Sweet! None of those tourists to harass us!" Tress said excitedly.

"But that means we can't ogle the hot guys." Sighed Cerella, sounding a little disappointed.

"Hey, you have a boyfriend." Ingrid pointed out irritably.

"No law against ogling." Cerella flipped her golden yellow hair around imperiously. She smiled when Ingrid rolled her eyes.

When they got to the beach at half past seven, everyone filed out, now in their swimsuits- and in the boys' case, swimming trunks. They carried surf boards- having stopped at a rental shop on their way to the beach- and back packs full of the things they would be using throughout their day.

HuiLing wore a teal blue one piece suit that had triangles cut stylishly in to the right and left of her sides, with a v-neck. Ingrid wore an ultramarine blue two piece suit with sky blue polka dots, Cerella wore a single piece light pink suit, Mimiru wore a violet one piece suit with a v-neck that had black horizontal, thin stripes. Tress wore an orange two piece suit with a thin, yellow halter top. Will wore a red single piece swim suit, Cornelia a sapphire blue bikini that had light blue flowers all over, Irma an ocean blue two piece with a dark blue halter top, HayLin wore a suit similar to her daughters', and Tress' swimsuit was yellow instead of orange, with orange trim along the v-neck line.

Ingrid went straight to the ocean with a large blue and white striped surf board in tow that she'd rented from a shop earlier on their way over to the beach, then dove right in.

"Like mother like daughter." Smiled Cornelia, as Irma soon took the plunge after her daughter.

"It's so beautiful here!" HayLin exclaimed, pulling out a tall easel and her painting supplies when she was at a safe distance from the water with people diving in and out of it.

Mimiru set her surf board aside, and dove head first in to the ocean with her hair being held back in a pony tail. Most of her kind avoided the water, but she rather enjoyed it. She swam below the surface, watching the aquatic life below with interest for a while before she had to surface for air.

Cerella decided to sun bathe, and set up her towel on the black sand with a light pink parasol handy in case things got too hot for her. She pulled out her fully charged iPod Touch, set her music selection for that morning, put in the headphones, then laid on her stomach, closing her eyes for a morning nap. Her mother had pulled out a magazine on the latest in fashions, as well as her own iPod Touch, and was reading while sun bathing.

Lillian clicked her tongue impatiently at her older sister- she was wearing a light purple swim suit with thin lilac stripes- and grabbed her surfing board, diving headlong in to the warm ocean water nearby, resulting in Cerella and Cornelia both being splashed rather thoroughly with water.

"LILLIAN!" Cornelia screeched at her sister.

"I'm just glad I've got a water proof iPod." Cerella commented, unable to resist smirking at her mother who was raging at her aunt. She had gone to certain lengths to ensure that her iPod had been waterproofed before coming to Hawaii, with protective clear film over the screen, and a waterproof silicon blue, pink and light green jacket over the rest of it. She closed her eyes again after earning a glare from her mother.

Taranee had taken an interest in what HayLin was painting and watched her friend over her shoulder, while Will dove in to the water to join the others. The three boys- Matt, Caleb and Derek- were playing frisbee by the ocean with a neon orange colored frisbee.

The morning passed quickly for the group, and HuiLing received a shock when her mother was calling her in from the ocean for lunch already. Taranee and Tress had got a good fire going, and had cooked up the hotdogs they'd brought with them by the time the girls had waded out of the water.

HuiLing had brought her favorite rose tea with her to drink, while Ingrid worked on a bottle of diet pepsi, Tress drank apple juice, and Cerella drank plain water. Lunch was a noisy affair that day, with everyone talking about their plans for the rest of the afternoon and evening. They were staying until well after sunset, wanting to see a Hawaiian sunset first hand.

Taranee had taken out her camera, and was shooting pictures with it all morning after she got bored with watching HayLin painting. She switched out the data cards with a fresh one while they were eating to prepare for another several hours of photo-shooting.

"Hey, while we're here, let's get some training in, eh?" HuiLing suggested.

"I don't see why not." Nodded Cerella, this time eager to take part in the training. She also wanted to see how her Guardian outfit would look against the black sand beach, and the gleaming blue Ocean behind them.

They finished eating, then Cerella, Tress, Ingrid and Mimiru surrounded HuiLing.

"Guardians Unite!" HuiLing called out. When they reemerged as the Guardians, Cerella looked around.

"Sweet!" She said, liking how her outfit felt and looked right now. "Time to add a little decoration to this joint." She looked around, looking for the perfect spot for what she had in mind.

Then she found the perfect nook- a small corner surrounded by coconut trees and tropical ferns. She raised her right hand, directed her index finger at it, and a giant flower root sprouted from the black sand. From the root was a bud the size of a small car, which bloomed magnificently in to a large, tropical white rose streaked with orange like a blazing sunset.

"Nice work!" Mimiru commented.

"Thank you, thank you very much." Cerella bowed to the praise, apparently quite proud of herself.

Ingrid looked at the water, then raised her hands. A giant sphere of water formed above.

Mimiru looked at the glimmering sphere. She balled her hand in to a fist and shot a blast of ice cold air at it, turning it in to an orb of ice. Tress then shot several fire arrows at it, which shattered the block of ice in to thousands of shards that created prisms, and beams of colorful rainbow light that appeared as the shards fell to the ocean. HuiLing sent a blast of white lightning at the shards, causing them to be even more numerous than before as they fell.

"Nice." Commented Irma.

"Thought that would liven things up a little." Smiled Tress.

"And without destroying part of Heatherfield this time." HuiLing added.

Derek was a little more solemn through the day, finding himself thinking about seeing Wanda enjoying herself by the beech like this, not back at Phobos' castle injured from a fight. He gave a sad smile at the thought that Wanda would never be able to enjoy something like this. Who knew the next time they would get to come back to Hawaii. It wasn't exactly the cheapest of vacation spots.

"Hey, why so glum?" His sister appeared behind where he was sitting, staring out at the ocean. Her long sheet of golden hair hanging over her shoulder. "Here, have a drink. It's Pineapple, Apple, and Citrus juice." She smiled. It was all of his favorite fruits, he shouldn't have a reason to reject his favorite juice.

Wanda looked away from Cybelle as the girl tended to the wound around her middle where HuiLing had injured her. They were sitting on the balcony just outside Wanda's room after she had given Phobos a report on the Guardians' movements and plans, what she could gather from tailing them the last several days until she fought HuiLing. What she didn't understand is that if HuiLing valued their friendship so much, why did she do this?

"There we go... Something on your mind, my lady?" Asked Cybelle, a concerned expression on her face as she stood up, wiping her hands- which were covered in remnants of blood and burn marks- on a blue cloth.

"Nothing." Wanda shook her head. She didn't want Cybelle to think that she had traitorous thoughts running through her head, because those thoughts would most likely reach Phobos. Something wasn't sitting right about him in her opinion. It was all too good to be true, how she was treated. She'd seen the resentful looks that Rhea and Cedric gave each other when she was around getting preferential treatment above them. She had the feeling that they would be glad to see the back of her if she ever left.

Cybelle looked down at Wanda, seeing the pensive look still on the girl's face, and wondered if Phobos' lies and manipulation was worth what it was obviously doing to the girl. She seemed to be getting more and more confused and lost looking the more she went out in order to follow or confront the Guardians. And Wanda really was a sweet person, who didn't need this put on her. Cybelle found herself growing more loyal to Wanda than she was to Phobos as time went on. There was something about how Wanda's red eyes seemed to be staring in the distance, looking for something that couldn't be found, right now that got to her.

"You know... If there is anything you need me to do, just ask." Cybelle knew Wanda wouldn't be able to leave for at least a day while she healed.

Wanda looked back at Cybelle in surprise. Not at the statement, but the sincerity behind it. It caught her off guard apart from everything else. At first, without knowing Cybelle, she would have said that there was nothing that could be done for her. But now, the door had been opened.

"I... I wish for you to deliver a message... To the guardians." She mumbled, and Cybelle smiled, kneeling down to hear her better since she knew Wanda was beyond tired from her last mission for Phobos. "Tell them their attempts at whatever they are doing are useless. I don't remember them ever being in my life before now, and after what HuiLing did... why should I trust them?" The image of the man sitting next to Derek on the air plane flashed in her mind briefly, but she shook it off mentally. Before, HuiLing had flat out refused to fight her while professing the fact that they were supposedly best friends from childhood. But seeing as Wanda didn't have any memories of her childhood, and her thoughts were starting to get more confused by the minute it felt like to her, she didn't know who to trust or turn to. Even that boy Derek seemed frightening somehow, since their last fight in Hawaii.

"Consider it done, my lady." Cybelle bowed before leaving Wanda in peace.

Wanda nodded at Cybelle, and turned to look out from her balcony once more, leaning against the railing at the edge feeling more lost and alone than before now that Cybelle was gone. She wondered where the truth lay about who she was, where she belonged. She was starting to feel that it wasn't here, certainly not here in Phobos' castle.

The day ended on a rather quiet note for the gang as they stood on the black sandy beach of the island, the Guardians were back in their civilian forms, watching the legendary sunset as it bleached the sky bright orange, neon yellow, and streaks of neon pink. The colors and shapes were reflected in the ocean water, while the intensity seemed to paint everything with a light hue of orange or yellow. Taranee and Tress seemed to stand out particularly well in this setting as HayLin finished her painting at last.

"I can't wait to show Odin some of the pictures that were taken!" Cerella sighed dreamily as she admired the sunset.

Derek remained silent as he took a sip of coconut juice. He wasn't thinking about any of the others as he stared out at the tie-dyed ocean and sky. He was thinking about Wanda, how he would like to share a moment like this with her, and only her, in the future when they got her back. He felt increasingly bored and lonely without her around sparking fights or getting in to fights with her friends, or enjoying walking with her, and just being with her. It would be something that he wouldn't take for granted again. He would make sure she understood that fact. He wished he'd told her he loved her sooner, they could have had more time together before this incident with Phobos. Now that was too late. He only hoped she would understand, once she was brought back. He turned away from the awe inspiring sun set, not in the mood to truly enjoy something like this without Wanda being there. He didn't see how the others could stand it with their friend being gone. He knew it had to be hard for HuiLing, though, having been her best friend since the first time they met. The others were never quite as close to Wanda as he and HuiLing had been, but still...

"Hey, Mr. Sulky-pants..." His little sister saw him leaving the group looking upset over something. She leaned over his shoulder with a bright smile. "What's wrong."  
>"None of your business." He snapped moodily.<p>

"Come on... you can't fool me..." Cerella poked her brother in the cheek. She earned such a dirty glare that she took a step back. "Ok... Too pissed to talk right now. I'll try the assault later." She winked at him before turning away and leaving him in peace.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: **

**Find Your Way**

The return to Heatherfield wasn't the triumphant, joyful journey they hoped it would be. HayLin was rather upset with her daughter, who had chosen Sunday to fall asleep for far too long, nearly causing them to miss their airplane back home. The only upside was that Principal Knickerbocker already knew they were going to be gone until Tuesday.

Derek was to be found later Monday after noon walking the streets of Heatherfield alone. He managed to slip out of the condominium apartment while his mother and sister were busy arguing about what kind of salad to have for lunch. This was the last day until the antidote would be completed, then they would be able to get Wanda back and set things right with her. And after that, he had to go back to training Stevie as well.

Speaking of...

As Derek walked past the familiar trek in front of the Green Dragon Chinese Restaurant, he saw Stevie standing outside as though wondering if he should go in, clearly nervous about something.

"Hey." Derek waved at the boy. All in all, he wasn't that bad. In their last training session, the boy had advanced to using an actual sword against the dummy he was training with that Derek and Blunk put together.

"Oh, hi... I was just..." Stevie was clearly caught off guard by seeing his mentor coming out of no where.

"About to go in?" Smirked Derek. He understood all about how one's feelings towards another could make them do crazy things. Especially, he thought, when the person you loved was being controlled by the enemy like a puppet. At least Stevie didn't have to put up with that when it came to HuiLing.

"Yeah, that." Stevie opened the door. "How about we catch a small lunch and you can tell me about Hawaii?" He asked.

"Sure." Derek shrugged, not having had any other plans for the day at any rate.

As they walked in, Derek blinked at the familiar sights of the Chinese Restaurant.

"Stevie! Derek!" HuiLing's voice came from the kitchen, causing a few people to glance up from their meals as she came out, wearing her usual teal blue Chinese shirt, black shorts, shoes, and white socks. Her knee length black hair was in its normal braided pigtails, which were braided to the middle of her back. Today, however, there was a small change in her appearance: She wore a pair of simple gold hoop earrings in her ears that matched the gold dragons on her shirt, and the gold trim on her sleeves and neckline. Her apron was plain white with a black tie.

Stevie smiled and waved, walking over to her as Derek hung back.

"Ah, the two chunks are back!" YanLin said when she came out to see what the noise was all about.

"Grandma, I've told you before, it's Hunks, not chunks." HayLin sighed, coming out with two arm-fulls of plates before she went to a table filled with a mother, father and two children. Nearby sat a lone girl in an all black outfit with short hair and pale skin, sitting at a booth table in a corner where she could watch the traffic while she waited for her lunch. Derek thought he'd seen this girl before, but where?

Stevie had to cover up a snort of laughter by hiding it behind a particularly violent and random sneeze.

"Business still going strong then?" Derek asked.

"Blasting." YanLin replied.

"That's Booming, Grandma." HayLin sighed at how her grandmother could always mess up common phrases, intentional or otherwise.

Derek and Stevie placed their orders with HuiLing, and when she'd gone then returned with their drinks- Stevie a diet pepsi, and Derek a coffee.

"So, tell me how Hawaii went?" Stevie said at once.

And Derek told him all about the beauty of the islands, how they really did look like a post card once you got there.

"Though I would have preferred enjoying that sunset if my girlfriend was there with me." Derek said at the end of the story.

"Gotta be tough, man." Stevie said sympathetically. "Knowing she's tailing you on Phobos' orders, but not able to recognize you properly."

Derek looked out of the window to his left at the booth table they were at. Yes, he thought, it was hard. Before he hadn't been sure when he confessed to Wanda if he loved her or not, but after they got together, then were torn so abruptly apart, he knew for sure now. And he knew that she would need to understand that when she came back. He only hoped that he would get the chance to tell her, since no doubt all of her friends would want to clamor over her for attention and reassurance on her end over what happened.

"Excuse me..." The girl wearing all black with short hair had approached them at one point. Her voice was soft, but there was something mysterious about her. Like she didn't quite belong in this world.

Derek glanced up at her. This time he was able to see her properly, and knew who she was.

"My name is Cybelle... I'm not here to fight!" She added quickly when Derek had recognized her as the girl who'd been with Wanda at the castle in Meridian when he'd been to see her. She held up her hands to show that she had no weapons on her. Finally Derek and Stevie relaxed. "The Lady Wanda says that what you guys are attempting isn't working, and to stop before you get too deeply injured."

"She doesn't know what she's talking about then." Snapped an angry Derek. "I won't stop until I get her back." He added, and Cybelle's eyes went wide.

Cybelle could see why Wanda had fallen for this man before she was captured. There was such a determined look in his blue eyes that it was hard to argue with him.

"Why are you here? Just to deliver a message?" Asked Derek after a long silence.

"Well... yes. I'm more loyal to her than I am to Phobos... Besides, not everyone in Meridian is evil. You should know that by now." She winked at a bemused Derek and Stevie before going back to her table.

"That was...Weird." Stevie craned his head around to look at the girl.

Derek wasn't sure what to think, however. Whether or not it was a trick from Phobos, or a genuine message Wanda had sent through this girl. It was confusing to say the least, as he looked out the window.

"Boy, you look like you've seen better days." Said HuiLing when she came over with arm fulls of plates for them. She set their meals in front of the boys on their tables, before being called back by YanLin.

"Hurry up, Great Granddaughter! Lunch rush is crazy time!" YanLin called from the kitchens before HuiLing had time to talk with the boys.

HuiLing gave an annoyed look at her Great Grandmother's back, before waving at the boys and leaving to get back to work.

"So..." Stevie looked back at Derek. "You still going at it then? Getting your girl back I mean."

"Yeah. I don't care what she or that other person says. Where there's a will there's a way. And speaking of wills and ways... let's talk about your training." Derek suddenly became all business when he looked back at Stevie, who blinked several times, staring at him.

"Dangit... I was hoping we wouldn't get to this subject." Sighed Stevie.

"Well, training is going to be on hold until we can get Wanda back. That's all I wanted to say. It's going to be hell the next few days after today, because that antidote's being finished up as we speak. I'm going to need to put all I have in to finding a way to give it to her." Explained Derek, hiding his surprise at the dread Stevie showed at the new topic.

"Good... because being bested by a trash can with revolving arms is more damage to the ego than I need this week." Sighed Stevie, unable to keep himself from saying that.

"Oh?" Blinked Derek in interest.

"Let's just say I had a soccer game on Sunday while you guys were gone, and I ended up getting face planted in the mud by a rogue ball aimed at me from the other team." Shrugged Stevie, taking a sip of his soda.

Luckily Derek wasn't the type to laugh at the boy's misfortune, although a small little smirk appeared on his face when he thought of Stevie being face down in the mud by a soccer ball.

"Well," He said, making it quite plain that he wasn't about to laugh- at least openly- at Stevie, "Training is going to get tough once we get Wanda back. Since we're going to need all the help we can get to finish off Phobos once and for all."

Stevie sighed.

"Well, some things can't be helped. I did say I wanted to learn how to fight after all." He was now looking through the window.

They ate the rest of their meal joking about what was going on at school, verbally abusing the teachers, and laughing at the Principal and her weird morning announcements over the intercom.

"Well, speaking of school, my lunch break is just about over. So I should head back." Stevie sighed, putting down some money on the table to pay for his tab. He saw HuiLing, then waved at her before leaving.

Derek blinked at the boy. He had the feeling Stevie had been coming here for lunch since HuiLing had left on the trip to Hawaii while waiting for her to come back. He shook his head, paid for his own meal, then left in a silent sort of daze. There was only a few hours left in the afternoon, and he wondered when the group would be summoned to Kandrikar.

He got his answer an hour later when Matt called him on his cell phone.

"You can stop sulking, Derek. We just got the summons, so you need to come over to my place." Matt said.

"I wasn't—" Derek began in protest. Had he been sulking? He knew he'd been moody and withdrawn... He guessed one could call that sulking. "I'll be there in a bit." He sighed, cutting the call. He went in to the kitchen of the Green Dragon. "Sorry to interrupt, but we just got the call." He sent the message encrypted because there was more than just HayLin, YanLin and HuiLing in that kitchen.

"All right, HuiLing you can go. Thanks for the help today." HayLin smiled as she was busy plating some fresh fried prawns.

"Welcome, Mom." HuiLing replied as she pulled off her apron, making a dash for the doors with Derek.

Together the two hurried down the street to the Olsen house, where the others were already gathered and waiting in front of what looked like a two-dimensional violet and white swirling disc floating in mid air with enough width for a person to pass through easily.

"Where's Susan?" Blinked HuiLing, looking around.

"Mom's out shopping. I told her not to expect us for dinner this evening." Will explained. Dean was most likely at school teaching his history class.

"Well, let's transform so we can get over to Kandrikar." Ingrid said.

"Right..." HuiLing withdrew the Heart of Kandrikar, then held it up. "Guardians Unite!"

They were engulfed by the usual orbs of light, and reemerged in their Guardian State.

"Well let's get going. I'll be glad when we can be W.I.T.C.H. again... Sorry Mimiru, but M.I.T.C.H just doesn't sound right." HuiLing was smiling again.

"No offense taken. I don't blame you for wanting Wanda back." Mimiru smiled back as Matt transformed in to Shegon.

Together Will and Shegon passed through in to the disc, but they did not reemerge on the other side. Then Derek went through, followed by HuiLing, Mimiru, Ingrid, Cerella and finally Tress. When they reached Kandrikar, they saw the Oracle and Halinor waiting for them on the front steps. The Oracle held in his hands what looked like a clear bottle shaped like a tear drop the size of an egg, full of a strange looking sky-blue colored liquid.

"It is ready." Said the Oracle with a smile, holding up the bottle.

"How do we give it to her though? It's not likely she's going to be willing to drink something we try to give her." Ingrid pointed out right away.

"You have to gain her trust again." Halinor explained. "I've been meditating on the matter for some time... And discovered that she has residual anger buried deep within."

"You need to find a way to break through and understand that anger that she's worked hard to hide from everyone, even herself. Phobos has managed to capitalize on those deep emotions, it is why he is able to keep such a strong hold over her mental state." Explained the Oracle as he handed the antidote to Derek.

HuiLing blinked. She was about to say something, when an explosion shook the castle, and nearly sent them on their backsides. Violet lightning had struck a nearby pillar from the top left.

"Well, at least we don't have to go looking." Said Tress, whipping around to see Wanda floating above the castle, glaring down at the group.

"Ever heard of knocking politely?" Asked Ingrid, looking up at Wanda.

"How's this for knocking-" Wanda sent another blast of violet lightning at the group from her spot, and the group was forced to scatter.

"Will, stay with Derek!" Shegon said, and Will nodded. She hated not being able to fight back or help in some way.

Shegon flew up to where Wanda was at after that order.

"Wanda, it's me... your Dad." Shegon said calmly.

Wanda chose not to reply, but held up the Crystal of Cepheus ready to attack.

"Wanda..." Shegon said slowly, not daring to get any nearer. He held up his hands to show he wasn't going to be fighting her.

Wanda's eyes narrowed and she shot a fresh wave of violet lightning right at him. He chose not to deflect, and it hit him in the chest. He failed to repress the grunt of pain as the lightning struck.

"Matt!" Will exclaimed from her spot behind another pillar.

"Stay back!" Shegon told her, putting out a hand in warning as he righted himself up again.

"Wanda...!" HuiLing had flown up to join Shegon.

"You..." Glared Wanda, and before HuiLing could say anything, she was met with the same welcome. "Time for talk is over. I don't know what you're planning, but Master Phobos wanted me to put an end to it." She looked down, finding Derek with the bottle in his hands, and prepared to send an attack at him, not thinking or wondering about why they weren't fighting back.

"You know what? She's right..." Ingrid said, abandoning all pretenses and flying in front of Derek as Wanda sent a wave of violet lightning at him. Mimiru joined her side, so that when Ingrid sent a wall of water at Wanda, Mimiru sent a blast of cold air at the water turning it in to a wall of ice that deflected the lightning, shattering in to what looked like a rainbow of thousands of glimmering shards. Next, Ingrid sent a blast of water at Wanda.

That was an act that she quickly came to regret because Wanda took advantage of the water currents, and sent violet lightning directly in to the water. There was a split second pause, then violet lightning erupted all around them.

"Ok, not trying that again." Ingrid raised her arms up to protect her face from the onslaught as Mimiru sent a blast of air to counter the attack.

Wanda hadn't expected this means of fighting back, so when the lightning reached her she let out a yell before plummeting to the floor of the castle. Already, moments after she fell, she was starting to stand up again.

"Wanda, why do you support Phobos still?" HuiLing landed in front of her. "He's feeding you nothing but lies in order to keep you on his side."

"Isn't it better to be feared for something I am than loved for something I'm not?" Growled Wanda, raising her hand that held the Crystal of Cepheus and sending a whip of lightning at HuiLing.

Shegon was in between the girls in an instant, then managed to block the lightning attack with his own blast of energy from his eyes.

"Why are you so angry?" He asked. "Who are you angry at?"

Wanda did not reply, she'd gotten to her feet and stood at her full height. She was looking at HuiLing in a way that told her to brace herself again.

"Mr. Olsen... I know it's gotta be hard for you, but let me face her." HuiLing said finally. "She's my best friend, after all."

Shegon looked back at HuiLing.

"We'll all have to face her..." Cerella was looking to the side as a gust of wind blew through the castle of Kandrikar.

Shegon nodded, before flying off to stand with Will and Derek, who were watching with apprehension.

"Wanda..." HuiLing looked at her friend as Ingrid, Tress, Mimiru and Cerella stood beside her in a row. "I don't want to do this. Please stop."

There was a pause.

"If you hate this so much, then why are you doing it?" Retorted Wanda, gripping the Crystal of Cepheus hard in her right hand.

"Because it's the only way to get through to you!" HuiLing half shouted. She then saw the attack coming before it reached her.

"QUINTESSENCE!" The pair shouted in unison.

Violent waves of violet and white lightning met in between the two, but both held their ground, the sound of the energy crackling and sparkling was deafening, Will had to cover her ears. The Oracle and Halinor had to duck inside to avoid being accidentally struck by the attacks.

To give HuiLing more power, Ingrid directed her hands at the lighting coming from HuiLing's hands.

"Water!" She called out, summoning what looked like a whip of water that flowed continuously around HuiLing's hands, and in to the white lightning attack. The white lightning wave seemed to double in size as it's power increased.

Mimiru stepped forward this time, standing on HuiLing's right side. She sent a continuous blast of hot air in to the mix.

"Air!" Mimiru called out the summoning phrase for her full power.

Tress joined the trio next, putting the palms of her hands together as though in prayer, then directing her clasped fingers at the combination of attacks going at Wanda.

"Fire!" Her voice boomed out, and what looked almost like a dragon burst out, making the attacks look like a vibrant, constantly moving and out of control wave of pure white lightning, water, air and fire.

Wanda increased the output from the Crystal of Cepheus, very aware of the fact that the Crystal seemed to be humming with a high pitch, trembling in her hands as it was giving everything it had to fend off the quadruple attacks. She blinked as she saw Cerella walking forward to join the group.

Cerella summoned what looked like a pillar of hard granite rock out of the ground beneath her feet, before sending it right at Wanda.

"Earth!" She shouted.

A crack formed in the Crystal of Cepheus suddenly, once all five of the Guardians had combined their powers in to one attack and sent it at her. But Wanda did not budge even as the pillar of rock came at her. The protective shield formed around her in an instant, right before the pillar reached her.

HuiLing heard it rather than saw it. She was surprised that all the power had overloaded the Crystal. But certainly not angry.

"Now tell us!" She called out over the roar of all the power that was surging through them. "Who are you angry at and why?"

Surprisingly, this time Wanda looked up at the question. There was something of recognition in her eyes finally. But instead of glaring at HuiLing, she turned to her parents.

"You!" She roared back at Shegon and Will. "All those years you never told me anything about your past lives. I only found out when you were kidnapped by Cedric!" She shouted at them as the scrambled assortment of memories came flooding back, breaking through the barrier of whatever had been keeping them locked up for so long. "I never wanted anything to do with the supernatural world, but I had no choice did I? No warning. It just happened. You knew all along...But you never told me a thing!"

"Wanda...please...!" Will actually had tears in her eyes. Her daughter's words had cut her straight to the heart. "I'm not proud of it... I'm not!" She added hastily at the look on Wanda's face. "I just wanted you to live a normal, peaceful life. Not the life that I had led. I never thought that Phobos would try and break out a third time for revenge. Not even Queen Elyon could have foreseen that... But that doesn't mean I didn't care-"

"Didn't care enough about me to want to tell me, did you?" Snarled Wanda as she put another burst of power through the Crystal. The crack grew larger. "I was thrown in to your world without so much as an explanation from your pasts!"

An explosion came from the Crystal, and the combined attacks from HuiLing, Mimiru, Ingrid, Tress and Cerella finally broke through. The force of the blow sent Wanda flying backwards against a wall.

"Wanda!" Will came running over as her daughter fell to her knees after the collision.

"S-Stay back." Snarled Wanda, and Will froze. "I never even had a choice what path to follow." She said finally.

"How can you say that?" HuiLing said in spite of herself.

"I was captured by Phobos... I know that now..." Wanda was holding the side of her head. There was still a strong part of her that wanted to hold on to Phobos' orders, hold on to the part that wanted to follow orders rather than be the one giving them. Her body was wanting to attack, the control that Rhea's poison held on her was still strong.

"I can say it because I can." Wanda replied. "I want the truth... You..." She looked up at them. Her will to know the truth about everything overpowering the control the poison had on her body.

"We have a way..." Derek spoke up. "Here." He held up the bottle containing the liquid Wanda recognized as the juices that came from the Moonflower Lilly. "I'm not going to force you to drink it though, if you don't really want to."

"No!" Came Cedric's voice. He had appeared through a portal quite suddenly as she had. "Lady Wanda, you must not drink that bile."

"Why?" Blinked Wanda.

"You will not like what it will do to you. It will bring you even more pain then your so-called family and friends have." Cedric glared at Derek, who was mere feet from her.

"But-" Wanda looked back at the group.

"It's up to you and no one else, Wanda..." Shegon said, standing beside Derek. At least with his mask, Matt was able to hide the pain that had been caused by Wanda's anger that she'd so obviously repressed. Anger that had been directed at her own parents because of what happened.

"Don't do it!" Cedric cried out, transforming in to his giant lizard form in a blink of an eye.

This more than anything fueled the desire to learn the truth. She stood up, reaching for the bottle as Derek handed it to her after seeing the look in her eyes as Cedric made a wild dive towards her. Shegon got in between Cedric and his target, shooting a giant blast of energy right at the lizard's chest.

"I've been wanting to do that for years." He commented as Cedric went flying backwards with the force behind that attack.

Wanda blinked when Shegon attacked Cedric in that abrupt manner without any remorse. In fact, it was the exact opposite. She shook her head though, considering that Shegon probably thought he was protecting her somehow. She unstoppered the bottle before draining it in one gulp.

It happened in an instant. What felt like ice went down her throat, then her body felt like a thousand needles was going through her veins rather forcefully. She dropped the cracked Crystal of Cepheus, then fell forward, holding on to her head with both hands now as Derek ran forward, making sure she didn't hit the floor when she fell. She fell in to darkness, nothingness moments later.

Will bent down, her hazel eyes wide with worry, and Shegon knelt as well, now ignoring Cedric who was struggling to recover from the latest blow. Derek rolled the apparently unconscious Wanda on to her back, and was surprised at how pale she looked now.

"Wanda?" Shegon said as he transformed back in to Matt, kneeling over his daughter.

"That Crystal...!" HuiLing exclaimed, and they turned to see the Crystal of Cepheus glowing a bright white light from its spot on the floor. It was as though there was a chemical reaction gone wrong inside that crystal with how it was reacting to being parted from Wanda at last. They saw the transformation of the stone like a Solar Eclipse, fading rapidly from violet to pure white. The crack repaired itself with a flash of silver light, like some invisible finger had put white out over it before that effect faded entirely.

"Wanda?" HuiLing bent down near her friend in between the parents.

A flash of crimson light engulfed Wanda's body, and when it faded, she was wearing her civilian clothes. A few moments of tense silence followed, then finally she opened her eyes. The first person she saw was Derek, staring down at her with an expression that was a combination of relief and joy. Slowly, her eyes turned to the left. She saw her father, HuiLing, and her mother all kneeling around her. Beyond them were Ingrid, Cerella, Tress and Mimiru. All of them wore similar expressions on their faces.

"Mom? Dad?" She blinked. Next thing she knew, her mother had flung her arms around her in a tight hug. "OUCH! Mom... You're strangling me!" She exclaimed.

"Give her a chance to breathe, Will." Smiled Matt, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder, pulling her from her daughter gently.

"How do you feel, sweetie?" Asked Will once she had regained control of herself.

Wanda sat up with Derek's help as she thought about this question.

"Confused..." She thought about what happened. She remembered what happened in black blurs and confused fogs. She vaguely saw herself fighting HuiLing over what looked like an oasis somewhere in Hawaii, farther back she could see another fight where HuiLing was begging with her again to stop delving in to the path she had been forced in to by Phobos. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about all of that just now. She felt tired, exhausted and confused.

She looked around just in time to see Cedric vanishing through a portal looking enraged at the turn of events.

"Wanda..." HuiLing brought forth the Heart of Kandrikar. "I'm not going to make you or anything... I can understand if you don't want to be a Guardian anymore. But... We would like to have you back in the team." She said tentatively with a small smile. "This time it's your choice."

"So what do you say?" Ingrid was smiling as well.

Wanda looked at each of her friends, and her parents. There was a big difference from being thrown in to something, than having the choice of opting out. If it had been five months ago, she would have chosen the latter in a heartbeat. But after seeing and knowing what her friends had done to get her back, she knew it would be poor service to just walk away. Even though that was what a small part of her felt like doing, the larger part however was telling her to take the Heart of Kandrikar that was being offered to her.

Finally she decided to reach out and take the Heart of Kandrikar.

"You mean it?" HuiLing asked. "We can really go back to being W.I.T.C.H. again?"

Wanda was still quiet, but she nodded.

"If that is really your decision, then we must hurry to the orb chamber." The Oracle stated, having come out once he was certain things were calm again. "No doubt Phobos will send someone to attack again very soon."

Wanda stood up with help from Derek, then followed the Oracle as he moved through the castle. HuiLing and the others followed suit, and they were all in the room. She didn't notice Tress grabbing the Crystal of Cepheus as they went inside the walls.

"To return the power back to you, Wanda... all you have to do is call out the phrase." Explained Halinor with a smile.

Wanda nodded, holding up the Heart of Kandrikar, which felt warm and pleasant to her hand.

"Guardians Unite!" She called out.

Mimiru, HuiLing and Wanda were all engulfed by orbs of light that came from the rotating spheres in the center of the room. When the three emerged, Mimiru was wearing civilian clothes- a white baggy sweater, blue jeans, and black shoes. HuiLing was back in her original Guardian outfit, as well as Wanda- who was still quiet.

"Great to have you back!" Ingrid said cheerfully.

"Thanks." Wanda's muscles worked as though they'd gotten stiff over the last several days, like they'd forgotten how to smile. "Guys... I'm sorry..." She said, looking at the ground.

"Huh?" Blinked Cerella at the sudden apology.

"About all that I did and said." Muttered Wanda.

"Don't worry about it... you were under Phobos' spells and stuff. It wasn't really you who was doing all of that anyways." Ingrid waved her hand as though she were batting away a fly.

Wanda looked away for a moment. She could never tell Ingrid how much those words meant to her.

"Seriously, though. Next time you have a problem, talk to us about it. We're friends, that's what we're there for." HuiLing stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Something about these words struck Wanda in a way that made her feel that it should have been obvious before now. She ran over and wrapped HuiLing in a hug.

"Wanda?" Blinked HuiLing in surprise. She'd never seen Wanda as being the hugging type in the past.

"Thank you... for not giving up on me." Wanda said. She then went to the next person who reassured her- Ingrid- and hugged her too.

"Ok, ok... let's forgo farther embarrassment and just have a group hug to be done with it?" Cerella suggested. The girls came together in what looked like a multicolored six person hug with Wanda being in the center.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**A Is For Aggression **

"What do you mean she's not coming back?" Cybelle's voice filled the chamber, echoing on the walls as she stared at Phobos, Cedric and Rhea.

"You have not heard wrong, Cybelle... She has gone to the side of the enemy." Phobos explained.

Cybelle, in spite of everything, couldn't help but feel that she should have known that this would happen eventually. She'd known all along that Wanda's heart belonged to her comrades, and her boyfriend. But still, she'd hoped that Wanda would at least remember the one friend she had in Phobos' castle. At the moment, however, she felt thoroughly betrayed.

"If you wish to bring her back, then by all means try. We are better off without the wench, though." Rhea said haughtily.

BAM.

Cybelle lost her temper at Rhea's words, and had the woman pinned against the wall behind Phobos' throne. A blade had seemingly come from nowhere, pressed to Rhea's throat without any sign of mercy.

"Take that back... now." Growled Cybelle. She saw no sign of regret or remorse in those silver eyes. She had not shown Wanda this side of her on purpose, but her massive strength despite her small stature helped get her to where she was now, and she pressed the blade of her sword harder against Rhea's throat. This time she drew blood.

"That is enough." Phobos hadn't moved from his spot on the throne, but he knew exactly what was happening. "If you must, take your rage out on the Guardians. Now... to more important matters..."

He stood up finally, as Cybelle reluctantly let go of Rhea. "We need to make a trip to Kandrikar." He continued as though nothing had happened.

Wanda blinked when they were on the other side of the portal on the beach of the lake just outside Heatherfield.

"Oh, just to let you know, we've told everyone you've been out with your Mom on a business trip looking at prospects for a second pet shop." Matt said, having returned to his civilian form before passing through.

"Right." Wanda was still treating her mother and father with cold indifference as she held up the Heart of Kandrikar. There was a flash of light, and the five girls reverted back to their own civilian forms. She was about to say something to Derek, when Tress spoke up.

"What do we do about this?" She asked, and Wanda looked at it. Although it had changed in color, there was no doubt that it was still the Crystal of Cepheus.

"Keep it. I'm sure the original owner will come for it." She didn't want anything to do with that Crystal. She knew it probably wouldn't harm her anymore, but there was still a risk. She knew she was vulnerable still. Most likely she would always be vulnerable to those kinds of attacks. But if she was going to be the leader of the group again, she had to make sure not to give history the chance of repeating itself.

Derek was surprised at the hint of fear she showed when she saw that Tress still had the Crystal of Cepheus in her hands.

"Wanda..." He began, she blinked but showed no other sign that she heard him. Why was she avoiding talking, or even looking at him now that she was back?

Matt and Will looked at each other. Matt understood what Derek needed.

"I'll take the others home, Derek, you can stay with Wanda for a bit." Matt said.

HuiLing blinked at the sudden command of departure. But she could see that Derek and Wanda needed time alone, so she agreed without argument. She grabbed Cerella by her hair and dragged her away from her older brother.

"Hey!" Cerella exclaimed.

Derek waited as Will and Matt led the group away from them, back to their homes on the other side of the lake.

Wanda understood that she wasn't to follow her parents, but that didn't mean she was in the least bit happy about it. She was leaning against the rock wall of the cave nearby, listening to the silence that seemed to drag on.

"Wanda..." Derek began once he was certain they were alone, he looked at her and again noticed with a pang that she was still avoiding looking at him. He felt helpless, not sure what to do or say. But that nervousness he had in the beginning when he first told her he loved her was gone.

"What do you want?" She asked. There wasn't a demanding tone in her voice as there had been before, instead she was quiet and withdrawn. Like how she'd been as a child.

"To ask you why you won't look at me anymore." He said calmly. "I know...you've been through hell. I did my best to help you out of it. But why... now that you're back, you won't even glance at me?"

There was a plead in his voice that she couldn't ignore at this point. Why wasn't she? The answer came slowly.

"I'm sorry..." She mumbled. "All those horrible things I said to you." She could still hear herself shouting at him 'you didn't teach me a damn thing!' while she was under Phobo's control.

Next thing she knew, Derek was standing in front of her, hands on the rock wall on either side of her to make sure she wouldn't be able to get away from him again.

"Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." He said, speaking low and quiet when she looked up at him for the first time since she came back. "I should have done more to protect you. I knew Phobos was after the Heart of Kandrikar, but I thought you had everything under control until you sent HuiLing the crystal. I won't let it happen again. I might not have super powers like you, but you'd be surprised what I can do." He looked at her straight in the eyes as he spoke, still not letting her move away from him.

"But..." She looked up at him, then to the side. "Why? I'm not the leader you thought I was, nor the person. I did all those awful things. Even tried to kill my best friend." Her lower lip was trembling.

He put his forehead to hers, and he caught her scent that he had missed while she was away.

"Listen to me... That wasn't you. I know the real you. And I still love you. I know you're meant to be the leader of that group just as I know we're meant for each other." Derek knew the words sounded cheesy in his head, but they sounded even worse when he spoke them. Yet he had the feeling that she needed to hear them one way or another from him.

There was a long pause, then she leaned forward abruptly, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in to his chest. Being caught off guard was an understatement as he blinked a few times with a slight pink tinge on his cheeks, but he slowly put his own arms around her.

"I'll do what I can to back you up in battle, you just worry about the Heart of Kandrikar, and your friends." He said quietly.

"Ok." Her voice sounded muffled as her face was buried in his shirt still.

He fell silent after that, grateful that her parents were so understanding about their relationship and even approved. That much was obvious with the way Matt had managed to get the others away from them. It would have been hard to talk with Wanda like this otherwise. Will had gone through something similar, when Matt had been controlled by Nerissa during the days of Will's guardianship. Trust had been key in their bond after Matt came back, so he knew he had to show Wanda that same trust to help her return to more of a normal life again. Well, as normal as it could get in her situation.

There was an eerie silence in the castle of Kandrikar as Phobos moved through the halls. Rhea had her needles out and threw one at each guard or Priest that approached them. This time instead of poison meant to control a person, this poison put anyone the needles pierced to sleep instantly. The sleeping poison would only wear off after a couple of days, which was the amount of time Phobos needed to achieve his next goal.

"Dropping like flies..." Commented Cybelle as they reached the library.

"Nice, isn't it? Too bad I can't kill them... But that would alert the Guardians to what's going on." Rhea nodded. The two of them had been oddly polite since their scuffle in Phobos' throne room a few hours before. They had reached an unspoken agreement to keep their arguments from Phobos and Cedric's line of earshot in the future. Phobo's temper was not to be tested at this moment, him having just lost one of his most powerful allies. They didn't need to give him an excuse in order to want to show them his wrath. At least that was one thing the two of them could agree on.

The library was a tall circular room whose ceiling could not be seen. Every wall of the room was covered with books, some seemed to be inches thick, others were old and faded looking. Shelves upon shelves of volumes containing ancient knowledge, half of which were written in even older languages long forgotten by man, or some other race of a different world.

"What's going-" The Oracle and Halinor came running out from a room on the other side, but were struck down swiftly by two of Rhea's needles before they could finish their sentence.

A small smile came across Phobo's face as he watched them fall to the ground. It was anything but endearing to anyone who looked at him right now.

"Now... You are certain that is everyone in this castle?" He asked Rhea, who nodded. "Good. Then my search will go uninterrupted." He closed his eyes, holding up the staff in his right hand as Rhea, Cybelle and Cedric each took a door to guard just in case. He needed to find a certain book, and he was certain that it would be in this library.

As clouds formed overhead, Derek finally pulled away from Wanda.

"Let's have a date this weekend." He said. "Not during the week, you've probably got a lot of catching up to do at school. But I want to have dinner with you." He smiled at how pink her cheeks went when he said that.

"You just had to remind me of school, didn't you?" She asked sarcastically, and he was actually glad to hear sarcasm coming from her again.

"Got to have some form of normalcy in your life now that you're back." He poked her on the forehead with his index finger. "Let's get going. I don't want you to get sick or anything."

As they walked, he noted how she kept her arms around his even if he didn't say a word about it. He wondered what other changes he would see in her over the next few weeks because of what happened.

If Will and Matt had been hoping their daughter's anger at them would fade by the morning, they were sadly mistaken. She was quiet at the dining table during breakfast in regards to her mother and father, even if she was perfectly cheerful with her grandparents.

"Did you guys have a fight?" Susan asked Will and Matt when Wanda left with Dean to go to school with him.

"You could say that. It wasn't exactly the best end of a trip I would have liked." Said Will.

"Well, give her a while." Smiled Susan. "Sometimes anger takes a while to ebb."

"I made Wanda her favorite meal for lunch, so hopefully that will help." Will showed her appreciation for her mother's support, even if she didn't know the full story. She'd never told her mother about the powers that she and her brother had, after all. Having felt it was best to keep them out of that chaotic life as much as possible in order to keep them safe from people like Phobos and Nerissa.

"Thanks for the ride, grandpa." Wanda got out of his now parked car as he was gathering his own things.

It was early in the morning even for her, but she had to get to school in order to talk with the Principal and her teachers about all the work she missed while on the so-called business trip with her mother. Which meant that she was there before most students, and her friends. It turned out to be a long morning when she got in to the Principal's office, but she was able to get her homework figured out and find out how far behind she actually got.

"You missed about three tests... one in math, history, and English One o' One." Said the Principal, whose hair looked whiter than ever. "I'll let you get caught up on the other subjects this week, and next week you need to take those tests."

"Thanks." Wanda said, though she wasn't entirely thrilled at all the work she had to do. On top of her job as Guardian of Kandrikar. She took it as best she could, though. It wasn't like she could explain the true meaning of her near month-long absence from school because she'd been controlled like a puppet by some mad man bent on the dominion of the very world she lived in. Plus a few other worlds.

She yawned as she left the Principal's office finally, her backpack feeling strangely heavier than normal, which was saying something since she had about six textbooks and three binders in it. Plus all of her pens, pencils, and papers. When she reached her locker, she saw Derek standing there with a Diet Pepsi in his hands.

"Here." He handed it to her, knowing that she liked soda more than coffee.

"Thanks." She said, genuinely grateful, and took a long swig from the can.

"Hey girl." HuiLing joined them moments later.

"Hi." Wanda blinked at her friend's sudden arrival.

"Thought you'd probably have a long day of it." HuiLing looked ecstatic at the fact that she had her best friend back.

"Understatement." Mumbled Wanda, then she took another drink of the soda while putting her books, papers, writing utensils, and bag in the locker. Her locker walls were adorned with pictures of the girls from Sailor Moon, some of her favorite singers and groups which included Evanescence, and Within Temptation, and a few pictures of Derek that HuiLing and Cerella had given her the night before after Wanda came back.

"Where did you get those?" Derek asked, upon seen one of the pictures of him asleep at his desk at home.

"Oh come on, she's your girlfriend. You can't be angry that she's got your picture in her locker." Cerella grinned broadly, joining the group.

"But still... I'd like to know next time people are taking snapshots of me like that." He pointed at the image of him quite obviously snoring at his desk again. He vividly remembered HuiLing taking the picture of him while they were at Hawaii after coming out of the water from a lengthy swim in the morning. He tried to wrestle the camera from her after that, but Taranee ended up taking over with the snapshots instead the rest of the day.

"Wish I could've gone to Hawaii with you guys. It sounded amazing." Wanda sighed as she lobbed the now empty soda can in to a nearby garbage recycler container.

"Next time we go, he'll be able to see you in that swimsuit you have." HuiLing said before she could stop herself.

Wanda was spared farther embarrassment by the arrival of Ingrid with a month's worth of notes she'd been taking for her.

"Thanks." She looked briefly through all the notes, and was glad at how thorough she was. "These will help me out loads. I've fallen behind so much." She avoided looking at Derek, but more out of embarrassment at HuiLing's statement, than anything else.

Derek meanwhile, blinked as his imagination went in to overdrive for a moment. He could see Wanda in a violet swim suit enjoying the water with her friends again, before he realized someone was trying to talk to him in the real world.

"Yo, space cadet." Stevie waved his hand in front of the older man's face.

"Sorry." Derek blinked, remembering where he was again.

"So, after school we're getting to work with my training again, right?" Asked Stevie.

"Yeah. I've got plans after I see how you do after a rehash of what I've taught you so far." Derek put a reassuring hand on the younger boy's shoulder while making sure not to get too far from Wanda as she was talking with her friends and his sister.

Then another voice came that none of them wanted to hear.

"I see you're finally back from your trip, Olsen." Wanda blinked, turning to see Eva standing there with a haughty, imperial look on her face as she observed the girl who still looked exhausted from her apparently longer than expected business trip.

"And I see you've crawled out of your cave." Retorted Wanda as she closed her locker before Eva could see what images she had in the door. She wasn't going to put up with the blond girl's crap anymore. "Why don't you go talk with your fellow flies around the garbage bin? I think they're missing you."

"At least my clothes don't look like they're from a second hand store." Eva shot back.

"I think you look great, Wanda." Derek piped in, unable to resist. He made sure to speak Wanda's name, so that Eva wouldn't get confused about who he was talking to.

"You be careful, Olsen... I'm going to snag your boyfriend one way or another." Sneered Eva in her temper.

Derek rolled his eyes. This girl just didn't get that he loved Wanda, and he doubted if Eva could last two minutes in the battlefield against Phobos and his cronies. It might short circuit her brain if she knew the full truth of their relationship.

Wanda chose not to respond to this. She knew Eva was looking for an excuse to call a teacher in and get her in trouble, but she had other things to worry about. Like getting caught up in math class before she had a nervous break down, for instance. She could feel Eva's eyes on her the whole time she was standing outside her grandfather's classroom door waiting for it to be opened.

"Just ignore blondie with pigtails." Cerella said. "She's just a sore looser because my brother fell for you instead of her." She flipped her hair imperiously as Eva passed, and didn't bother to keep her voice down. "Personally I'd rather have you be my brother's girlfriend. At least you're fun to hang around."

Wanda gave a small, simple smile at Cerella's support. Again she felt a great rush of affection for her friends, who were still sticking by her despite what she'd done and said while under Phobos' control.

Eva glared at the group as they went on their way to their classes, her eyes narrowing as Derek planted a goodbye kiss on a flustered and blushing Wanda before he left up the hallway. She decided then and there she'd stalk the girl to find out where they kept vanishing to after school, sometimes for days. She knew the Principal and her parents said she was sick, or going on business trips. But she didn't buy it for one minute. There was something odd about that necklace Wanda wore around her neck all the time. And the fact that she didn't make as much of a scene as she normally would have with Eva in that hallway got her wondering what had really happened.

Phobos was reading a single and very ancient volume that he had pulled down from one of the highest shelves in the library. The novel contained the information needed for proper resurrection, not just spirits of past selves turned in to flesh. While he was certain of his capabilities, he needed to make sure that there weren't any means of the plan to backfire on him as the plan to control Wanda had so utterly failed.

He found a page that he'd been looking for, and a small smirk appeared on his face.

Rhea and Cybelle were both standing guard at the doors, making sure no one could get in if anyone managed to wake up. The silence in the castle was eerie, almost deafening, pounding on their ears. Cedric was on the inside.

After finishing what he was reading, the book went back up to its proper shelf, high up near the ceiling. He left the library in silence, nodding at Cedric, who stepped aside as the door opened.

"Did you find what you were seeking, My lord?" Asked Cybelle, and Phobos nodded.

"Exactly what I needed. Now come... we are making a journey to Earth." A portal appeared in front of them at his command, and they stepped through it.

They reemerged not in Heatherfield, but in front of what looked like a large volcano that was in the shape of a horse shoe with a massive, ancient dried up mudslide coming from the center. Snow capped the highest points on the volcano, and inside was a dome.

"What are we doing in this waste land?" Asked Rhea.

"This is where we will find the spirit of a former guardian resting. They were once united under the same Heart, but when their mission was completed, they spread out, finding places they were fond of to spend their remaining days." Explained Phobos as they approached the very heart of the volcano. The smell of sulfur, and the heat that came from the mountain would be enough to turn anyone else's head, however, it hardly effected Phobos, Cedric, Rhea and Cybelle. "Rhea, use your needles to determine if the spirit is indeed locked within this sleeping volcano."

"Yes, My Lord." Rhea bowed, vanishing then reappearing directly in front of the dome of the volcano. The dome was round and appeared smooth where she stood, but was also very unstable. She looked up and saw that the dome towered over her, and judging by the red glow in some places, magma still reigned supreme within.

Six needles appeared in her fingers, three in each hand, before she threw them right at the rock. With several loud crunches of metal on rock, the needles were inserted. Then they sank in. Rhea put her hands on the hot rock with flat palms, before closing her eyes.

There were several moments of silence as she could see in her mind's eye the six needles spreading out within the rock and magma, searching for the spirit signature of the guardian that Phobos was seeking. Then...

"Yes. There is a spirit within the volcano. Female, by what I can sense." She said.

"Good... very good." Nodded Phobos, landing beside Rhea.

"Her name is Helena, from the spirit signature's information. It makes sense... The name is so close to that of this volcano... St. Helens." Rhea continued.

"Stand back." Phobos instructed after he heard enough, and she obeyed, rejoining Cedric and Cybelle. He raised his staff, which glowed a bright white light before what appeared to be white lightning shot at the dome.

Tress was in Geology class, studying about the formations in the Pacific Northwest. The group had to separate for this period, so she was only with Cerella, who had a mild interest in Geology, if nothing else because of her powers. Tress had the Crystal of Cepheus around her neck, right now it looked like an ordinary white jewel hanging there, but she could feel a sense of power that was anxious, almost like that power was reaching out to something else other than herself.

Halfway through the class, she felt it. Like a shock wave through her body. Even Cerella looked up with a jolt. Something had disturbed the natural cycle of earth and fire, they knew it. They just couldn't tell what it was at this moment, but judging by the look on each other's faces, the two of them understood that this didn't bode well for them. Whatever was going on. Hopefully they would hear about it soon.

After class was over, the two of them gathered outside in the hallway.

"You felt it too?" Asked Cerella.

"Yeah, like a shock wave. Something disturbed nature's element of fire." Tress nodded.

"To me it was more like a trembling of the earth itself. Something's happening." Cerella sighed, looking worried. She wasn't so sure about the power she had now, after all that had happened. But so far, at least, things were calm for now. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle what Wanda had been put through.

"Hey you two." Ingrid made Cerella jump by coming up behind. "Why so jumpy?" She smirked.

"We just felt something happen to the planet. We don't know where either." Replied Cerella at once.

Wanda joined the group with Derek behind her, and HuiLing at her side. "What did you just say?" Asked Wanda.

After making sure there weren't any eavesdroppers nearby, the girls broke in to explanation as to what they felt.

"I'm going to Kandrikar." Said Derek once the two were done. Wanda looked up at him. "We'll go." He corrected at the look on her face. "Right after school, so no one will suspect anything. I think that Eva chick is suspicious of us."

"She's just a sore looser that she didn't become your girlfriend and is trying to find an excuse to smear my name." Shrugged Wanda. She looked away, and didn't see the small smile on Derek's face at her comment.

Indeed, hidden behind a row of lockers in that hallway, Eva frowned. Kandrikar? What the hell was that? She had the feeling that she was getting in over her head, but at the same time the desire to find something to get Wanda in trouble with was much stronger than her conscience. She listened even closer to what they were saying. So those girls had a connection with the planet? Were they super powered freaks?

"Well, let's get going. It's lunch and I'm starving." Said Tress.

"I know, and today's my favorite day... Pizza Day in the cafeteria!" Wanda exclaimed.

At the table, the group sat with Wanda, Derek and HuiLing on the right side, and Ingrid Tress and Cerella on the left. Wanda had two pieces of square cheese pizza on her tray, with salad and thousand island dressing on the other half. She took one of the pieces, then dipped the tip right in to the dressing.

"Ugh... I can't stand it when you eat like that." Cerella said in disgust as she ate her salad first. "It's just cheese and grease piled on to bread, you know."

"Technically, it's moldy milk that's been cooked over until it forms curds and is then shaped in to blocks, but still." Wanda shrugged, causing HuiLing and Tress to exchange slightly disgusted expressions with each other across the table. "What?" Blinked Wanda, not having realized she may have offended anyone. "I like cheese and I like knowing how it's made." She took a rather big bite of pizza to emphasize her point.

"Now I don't even want my pizza." Grumbled Cerella, looking thoroughly disgusted now.

"Can I have it then?" Asked Wanda shamelessly.

"Take it." Cerella held up her tray across the table so Wanda could grab her two slices that had been put on it by the cafeteria servers.

Derek burst out laughing as Wanda piled the two new slices.

"Ok, Derek, why is that funny?" Asked Ingrid as she ate her Pizza.

"Because I didn't think that would actually work on my sister. Wanda was only doing that so she could get more pizza." He shook his head as he took a bite of his own.

"Wanda's a genius when it comes to getting the food she wants... who'd have thought?" Blinked Ingrid.

Across the cafeteria, Eva sat with her group of friends going over the latest in fashion, when she glanced over at Derek's table to see him laughing at something that was going on.

"What's up, Eva?" Asked a dark haired girl sitting next to her.

"Hold on, Janet. I'm gonna see what's so hilarious that the brat's got him laughing." And she strode over to the table Derek sat at.

"Don't look now, but I think a gorilla just lumbered over." Ingrid pointed at Eva.

"Ha ha." Eva snapped. She had another reason for needing to come over here than the one she'd given her friends. "Listen, you little freaks..." She slammed both hands on the table and leaned forward. "I know you guys have some kind of secret, and I'm going to find out what it is and expose it to everyone."

"What? You mean like the fact that Wanda's dad is a musical superstar? Or Cerella's Mom is a well known fashion designer?" Asked HuiLing in a matter-of-fact way that got Eva even more upset.

"No. You guys are hiding something else. And I'm going to find out what-" She stopped, for another shadow had loomed over the table.

"Is there a problem?" Asked Principal Knickerbocker.

"We were just having a friendly chat is all." Eva stood up and away from the table.

"Good, I won't be having any disturbances in the lunch hall. Back to your friends, Miss Eva." The Principal shooed her away.

"Wow... Saved by the Principal instead of saved by the bell..." Blinked Ingrid. "I'm going to have to remember to be nicer to her in the future."

"Hey, Wanda, you want to see a movie after school?" Derek asked her once Eva was gone.

"Sorry, I can't. I'm working on something important with Dad." She looked genuinely apologetic to him.

"Then after that?" He asked hopefully.

"Depends on what time we finish." She shrugged. "Dad and Mom don't like me out too late. Especially after... well, what happened and all that." She knew she couldn't go in to details in the cafeteria, but judging by the look on his face he knew what she was talking about.

He was not happy about this, but it was better that she was with someone trusted in her company than with some stranger. He had an arm around her as they ate.

After lunch, he saw her to her next class before going to his locker. He had a free period, which he was going to use for homework.

"Don't worry." Cerella saw the look on his face before heading in to the class. "I'm sure it's all fine."

"Then you know what's going on?" He looked at his little sister.

"No." She shook her head. "But I doubt it's anything to worry about. She can't hang out with us either, we tried getting her to go to the park earlier, but she said no to us too. So it's not just you."

Derek appreciated his sisters' reassurances and gave her a smile as she turned to head in to the classroom when Ingrid hollered at her.

Finally the process was finished. It had taken a whole day and night, but he had succeeded. A woman stood before him with dark brown skin, and sepia hair. Her hair was waist length and wavy, and held up in a pink pony tail bow. Her eyes were bright green as the green on her tights. She wore a pink sleeveless shirt with an elegant green brooch right in the center of the u-neck line. The shirt cut off at least three inches below her breasts, and in the front were two upside down pink crescents. Her mini skirt had two layers, the bottom being pink and the top ultramarine blue, and it slanted to the right. Her boots were ultramarine as well, and knee length. Her arms were left bare, with no gloves or wrist bands, which revealed her dark brown skin rather well. Her guardian wings were the small set that Wanda's group first used.

"From this point forth, you are my Guardian of Fire..." Phobos raised his staff to the point where the violet stone was at eye height with her. "Helena Abital... Quintessence." He muttered, and she was engulfed in white lightning for several seconds. When she opened her eyes again, they were still green, but blank and lifeless as they looked at their new master.

"Now, to the next place of interest... You will show me where Tuula Feng is resting."

Helena bowed.

"As you wish, my Master." She replied.

A portal opened in front of them, and they vanished inside it. When they reemerged, Phobos saw they were on the Western Coast of Oregon state, more particularly hidden in a small outcropping of rock that reached out from the heavily forested coast.

"Here." She pointed at the stones that surrounded them. "Is where she was laid to rest."

"Excellent." Muttered Phobos, raising his staff above his head. Lightning shot from the stone on the staff, while Rhea sent several of her needles in to the rocks for her search to begin all over again.

What appeared to be a black haired head seemed to float from the center of these rocks several feet above them. Her hair was kept back in an ornate pink and apple green pony tail, with her black hair still hanging down to her waist. Her shirt was sleeveless as well, but she still had two shoulder straps. The main part of her shirt was ultramarine blue, with a v-neck. The bottom straps of the shirt were also ultramarine, while the top straps were pink. At the bottom of the shirt, three inches above the belly button were two ultramarine crescents. Dangling from her ears were a pair of delicate emerald earrings that gleamed when the sun hit them. Her arms were bare just like Helena's, which showed how pale her peach skin really was. Her skirt went down to her knees and was pink with a slit up to her hips on the right side lined with ultramarine blue lace. The top of the skirt had two straps, the bottom being ultramarine and the top pink in a v-line like her neck, while in the front center was an emerald stone similar to that of her earrings. Her tights were apple green and dark green like Helena's, and her shoes were pink with high heels and a single ribbon wrapping around her ankle. Her wings were the same small Guardian wings as Helena's as well.

"Quintessence!" Phobos called out at once before Tuula had a moment to comprehend what was going on.

HuiLing was in her art class right after lunch when she felt something that she would have trouble explaining later on.

"Something wrong, Ms. Lyndon?" The Art teacher Mr. Brown had come over to her table when he saw she was distracted.

Mr. Brown was five feet nine inches tall, wore an old, paint stained white t-shirt, a pair of worn out blue jeans, and tennis shoes. He had short brown hair, brown eyes, and pale skin.

"Ah... Sorry, Mr. Brown." She said, getting back to work on her painting of Meridian that she had been working on, even though she had told him that it was part of the Fantasy Landscapes project she'd figured out weeks ago.

Tress, who sat next to her, saw the look on HuiLing's face and knew what she must have sensed. The same thing she and Cerella had felt earlier that day. Instead of painting, Tress was working with clay and molding it in to a figure- her mother as a Guardian for the Fantasy project. She was working from all the descriptions that her mother had given her before she started working on this sculpture, and so far she just had the main body and pose figured out. Her hands were covered in clay and sculpting materials that she'd been working on for the last half an hour, but she was most at home in the art classroom working with clay rather than paint, as HuiLing was. Around her neck hung the Crystal of Cepheus, gleaming white in the current lighting.

Today Tress wore a pair of blue jean coveralls, and an orange t-shirt with a u-neck. Her black hair was kept back in a pony tail, and she wore white and blue striped tennis shoes. She did not wear her watch that she normally wore, it was tucked away in her pocket due to the nature of her art project.

HuiLing wore her usual teal blue Chinese style t-shirt shirt lined with yellow gold, and black shorts. Her shoes were blue tennis shoes, and her waist length black hair was kept back in its standard braids. Her black eyes were observing the canvas as she tried to figure out what colors to use on the flowers that surrounded Elyon's castle.

"You sensed something?" Whispered Tress once Mr. Brown was out of earshot.

"Yes." Nodded HuiLing. "It was like a rippling through the air itself. Something unpleasant is going on."

"I felt it yesterday. I don't know what Phobos is up to, but we've gotta keep out eyes out." Replied Tress with narrowed eyes.

"Enough chatter over there, ladies." Mr. Brown's voice startled them, and they went back to work.

Phobos now stood in front of the lily pond in Hawaii. It was in broad daylight, so this time, no one saw the flowers, only the buds and leaves as regular lily pads. Galena was not present, as no one had come to her pond since the Guardians had to get their friend back.

"Cybelle... This one is for you." Phobos looked at the girl, who smiled.

She walked forward, then stepped right on to the water.

There was a loud roaring, like a rushing of water through a large pipe, and a pillar of water formed in the center of the lake.

"You intruders who dare disturb my rest..." Came Galena's infuriated voice. She looked up at Cybelle.

"Shove it." Cybelle snapped before Galena could finish her sentence.

Galena's eyes narrowed, then she raised her right hand, sending a wave of water needles at the girl, who jumped up high in to the air to reveal Phobos standing with Helena and Tuula on either side of him, just behind.

He raised his staff and sent a blast of lightning at the water needles, which exploded upon impact.

Cybelle landed on the water once more, looking up at Galena. The trick will be getting the woman off the pond. She did not have super powers like Galena, or her master, but she did have the strength, once the woman got close enough.

"Helena, Tuula!" Galena saw her two fellow guardians with a pang in her heart, but the two women did not recognize her, let alone give any sign of a response. "What have you done to them? Why have you disturbed their sleep?" She knew the look on her friends' faces as the very look that Wanda had on her face when she saw her fighting HuiLing.

"Because there is a task that I need completed, and you are the only ones who can do this." He replied as Cybelle worked her way towards her.

"Well you can forget it. I know who you are and what you've done to the current Guardians." Galena directed the palm of both her hands at Cybelle and Phobos. The water from the pond seemed to rise all at once, surrounding her and Cybelle, blocking them from view of Phobos and the others.

Ingrid was sitting in history class that afternoon, her head on the palm of her hand as she sat there looking completely bored out of her wits. Today she wore a blue striped long sleeved sweater since it was slightly colder today, with a u-neck line, dark blue flared jeans, black and blue striped tennis shoes. Her hair was kept back in low pig tails that day to keep it out of her face since it was rather windy that morning. She blinked when she felt something light bounce from the side of her head, and landed on her desk.

It was a rolled up piece of paper flicked at her by Cerella. Cerella's hand writing was elegant and loopy, in black ink since that was the only kind of ink Dean allowed in his classroom.

She unrolled the note after making sure Dean was busy writing notes on the blackboard, and read what Cerella had written:

Meet at the Auditorium after school for a surprise.

Ingrid blinked at the strange note, but gave a thumbs up to show she was go for that plan.

Phobos watched the wall of water with narrowed eyes. It had been nearly an hour, when suddenly Galena's back came flying out, Cybelle's hands wrapped around her neck as she pushed her through the wall of water while Galena was trying to push her off with little success. Galena landed on her back at Phobos' feet as Cybelle rolled away, and that was the moment that Phobos raised his staff.

Lightning shot from the staff as Galena started to stand up, and Galena let out a yell of rage and refusal to cooperate as the lightning engulfed her body.

Cybelle stood up from the spot she had rolled to as she dusted herself off.

It was now three o'clock, and Cerella, Ingrid, HuiLing and Tress were all outside the auditorium of the school.

"Hey, where's Derek?" Cerella blinked, looking around.

"I guess he didn't get an invite." HuiLing also looked around the hallway.

The door to the auditorium opened up, and they saw Wanda at the other end with her father.

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it!" She said.

"What's going on?" HuiLing, leaned over to see Matt's band setting up.

"Rehearsing. The Auditorium won't be open after school until the dance." Matt explained, "Due to the fact that we're going to be busy in here."

"That's right! You were set to perform, weren't you? But... what are you doing here?" Tress asked Wanda.

"I'm part of the show, but I don't want Derek to know." Wanda winked at the girls. "I just wanted you guys to be in on it so you won't feel abandoned or anything."

"So sweet..." Cerella grinned. "So, can we get in on the preparations and all that?" She asked.

"Sure, we need someone to help decorate." Nigel came over to the group.

"Hi Dad!" Tress went over and hugged him.

"Well, someone smells like they've spent the afternoon in a kindle." He commented, noting the clay stains on his daughter's shirt and overalls and Tress gave an embarrassed smile. "Where'd you get this?" He noticed the white crystal necklace that hung around her neck.

"Oh, I found that when Mom and I were looking for a possible location for a second branch of the Pet Shop, and thought of her when I saw it." Wanda said quickly when Tress looked like she wasn't quite sure how to explain this one to her father.

"And she got me a bunch of new Oil Paints." HuiLing spoke up to make sure the lie was buyable by Tress' father.

"Nice." Nigel nodded his approval. "So, Wanda, given anymore thought to the lyrics for the song we've been working on?"

At this Wanda looked rather embarrassed. Matt seemed to know that expression right away.

"In other words, not really." Matt sighed. "Well, there's still time. Wanda, why don't you head over there to work on lyrics, and Cerella, you, HuiLing, Tress and Ingrid can figure out what kind of decorating needs to be done for the dance over there so she can concentrate."

"Why doesn't Wanda want Derek to know about this? I think this is sweet." HuiLing looked at Matt as the other three went over to one of the tables away from Wanda.

"She wants it to be a surprise, since one of the three songs she's writing is for him." Matt was smiling as he said this.

HuiLing blinked as she leaned over to look at Wanda who was already pulling out her iPod Touch, and acting like she was wanting to yell at it.

"Her and technology don't really get along, do they?" She grinned.

"Nope, not at all." Chuckled Matt, shooing HuiLing over to her other friends.

Wanda was glaring at her iPod as it told her off for not being used for so long.

"Listen Judy, I just need your help. Can't you just please play that music I put on your playlists before I left?" She asked it.

"Sure, now that you've asked nicely." The woman's haughty voice came from the iPod.

"Thank you." Sighed Wanda with relief, putting on the headphones.

"Might I also suggest E.S. Posthumus' newest CD to add to your collection of inspirational music?" Judy suggested.

"I'll think about that one. It might be a bit too much for me right now... now... where's that notebook..." Wanda dug around in her back pack until she found the purple notebook with pink flowers and green leaves all over it.

She saw her cell phone, then thought of something.

"Hey Ron, if Derek calls, just tell him that I can't hang out with him today, please? I'd appreciate it." She picked up her cell phone, which was a Droid Phone with a purple protective cover.

"Sure thing, hon. But can you please put me in the front pocket this time? It smells like sweaty feet and old notebook paper in the main section of that backpack, and I don't want to get broken because of those brick heavy text books." The Phone answered.

"Hey! What about me? I'm always falling to the bottom of this dang backpack!" The Calculator said.

"Fine... From now on, all of my technology will be in the front pocket. Are you guys happy?" Sighed Wanda.

"I'm not being stuck next to that primitive beast!" Judy's voice overtook the music, referring to the calculator. "I'm either going in your coat pocket, or being left at home!"

"Man this is getting old..." Sighed Wanda, wondering how her mother ever dealt with this kind of power.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: **

**B is For Betrayal **

Phobos now stood before what looked like a simple slab of stone with the name of Ila Nur engraved on it. This stone was set in place in the center of a small field of grass and wildflowers which were in bloom. Behind him were now standing Helena, Tuula, and Galena. This time he did not need Rhea or Cybelle. With the three former Guardians standing behind him with the other two. He raised his staff above the tombstone, and lightning shot from the violet stone that sat atop of his staff.

"Now... you will rise and join your fellow Guardians." He stated.

What appeared to be a crimson, yet faded and transparent head started to rise from the tombstone, followed by the rest of the head, the torso, then finally the legs and feet. This woman was much different than her companions. Her hair was crimson red, with bangs that were wavy in the front towards the left and strands on either side of her face that hung to her shoulders. The back of her hair was held up in a loose blue pony tail which meant her hair went to the nape of her neck. Her t-shirt was a pink u-neck, with an inch wide ultramarine trim at the neck line. The sleeves of her shirt resembled a rose petal on either side of her arm, and the shirt cut off two inches below the breasts with an upside down v-trim. Her skirt was a three layered mini skirt, the bottom layer being ultramarine, the middle pink, and the top a combination of ultramarine and pink, slanted from right to left. Around her waist was an ultramarine belt half an inch wide that held her skirt on her waist, and the skirt itself was light and airy, resembling a flower. She wore the apple green and dark green Guardian style tights, and her wings were the smaller set of Guardian wings. Her shoes were pink dress shoes with high heels, with two pink bands on either ankle wrapping around like anklets, and on either foot were two straps that crisscrossed at the toes. Her skin was pale peach with a light tan, while her eyes were a brilliant emerald.

She blinked at the sight that was before her when she had fully emerged from the tombstone, and saw the three women who were once her friends and allies on the battlefield.

"Tuula, Helena, Galena!" She exclaimed. Her eyes went wide when they gave no response, and did not even appear to recognize her. "Who are you and what have you done with them? Why did you disturb their rest?"

"The same reason I have disturbed yours, my dear." Phobos hissed. "If you wish to rejoin your friends in glorious conquest, all you have to do is say so."

Wanda was still sitting at her table two hours later, her papers and notes were now spread out as she struggled to come up with some sort of lyric for her first song. There was a pile of crumpled up papers in the garbage can nearby, which was close to overflowing.

"Wanda, might I suggest-" The voice of her iPod began to speak.

"Say anything, and I will personally throw you down the school toilet." She muttered before letting out a yell of frustration, crumpled up the paper she'd written two lines on, then threw it right at the garbage can and slamming her forehead on to the table.

"Woah..." Ingrid blinked over at the noise. "Talk about temper tantrums."

HuiLing smiled, going over to the soda machine, putting in the proper amount of change and selecting a bottle of twenty ounce Diet Pepsi for her friend.

"Here you go." HuiLing tapped her friend on the shoulder, then handed Wanda the bottle when she looked to the side that she was at. "I don't drink the stuff, but I know you inhale it."

"Thanks." Wanda gave a small smile, took the drink, and downed nearly half of it in just a few large gulps.

"Thirsty much?" Cerella had wound her way over to the table. "Listen, I have a bone to pick with you, girl." She went on before Wanda could answer. "How come this is a big concert, yet you haven't asked me to design you new outfits for the performance?" She put her hand on the table, glaring at Wanda as though daring her to say she had not been.

Wanda glanced over at HuiLing who shrugged, with the expression 'Don't look at me' quite plainly on her face from behind Cerella's back. Finally, she sighed in surrender.

"Fine, you can design new outfits for me. But no dresses! God help you if I find any dresses." She warned, which got HuiLing cracking up with laughter behind them.

"What's so funny?" Nigel came over to the group.

"Oh nothing, Wanda here just went all Stewie Griffin on us." Cerella huffed at HuiLing, who was now laughing uncontrollably.

"Settle down there, sparky." Matt grabbed HuiLing by the collar of her shirt.

Two voices in heated argument carried over to them, and they looked over at Ingrid and Tress.

"I'm telling you, people will love the balloons!" Ingrid was saying.

"Ingrid, this is a CONCERT, not a festival." Sighed Tress.

"Balloons are what's gonna make the concert fly though! Come on... think of it, at the very end, red, pink and white balloons falling from the ceiling on top of everyone! Oh, that's gonna be so much fun." Ingrid looked wistful for a moment.

"Maybe fun for you." Tress stared as though she couldn't really believe how someone so single-minded had become her friend. "Not everyone is a balloon obsessed geek."

"Tress, you truly hurt me with your lack of faith in the power of the all mighty balloon." Ingrid had a look of mock sorrow on her face.

Derek was bored out of his wits that afternoon, with Wanda and the girls busy with a project at school, and he being done with homework, he had nothing to do. Then he blinked suddenly, pulling out his cell phone.

"Hey, Stevie. You were wondering when your next training would be? Well, how about now if you're free?" He paused as Stevie answered that he was. "Great. Meet me out back of the condominium where I live in half an hour." He hung up, then headed back to his home to prepare.

By the time he was done, he had rigged what looked like a dummy that Caleb had once used to train Matt in battle years ago, sword and all, in the back lot of the building.

When Stevie arrived, Derek had a number of weapons spread out in a row, and Blunk sitting cross-legged since he had to use his tooth in order to fold back and forth between Earth and Meridian for a short time for Derek to get what he needed from his room in the castle for this particular lesson.

"So... what's with the arsenal of weapons?" Stevie asked, pointing at the mace. Today he wore a white t-shirt, and blue jean pants with a pair of black shoes. "And what the heck is that?" He pointed at Blunk, the stench of the Passling reeked in his nose.

"That would be Blunk. Without him, I'd have to rob a history museum to get these. And since you've completed the basics to training, I'm going to teach you how to use every weapon in Meridian that way you won't be caught unawares when you do finally start to join us in the battles." Derek explained.

"Have you ever considered throwing him at the enemy? He'd be more than enough to topple them with just the smell alone." Stevie looked at the various weapons, which in a row right to left were a crossbow, mace, sword, bow and arrow, and an axe. There was also a long metal rod. Each had a mate, except for the mace. He had always secretly loved medieval weapons, and now was his chance to learn how to use them in order to impress HuiLing the next time she saw him.

"Blunk already hero in Meridian!" Exclaimed Blunk. "Blunk just here to make sure not-so-funny Derek can get home."

"R-i-i-g-h-t." Stevie shook his head at Blunks exclamation. He picked the sword first, and Derek spent the rest of that late afternoon, in to the evening teaching Stevie the basics of sword battle.

By the end of it, Stevie was exhausted and full of sweat and dirt from the times the dummy had rotated at the wrong time for him, which resulted with him falling face first in to the ground, Blunk bursting out in laughter until Stevie threw a handful of mud in his own face.

"Not bad for rookie." Derek nodded. "You might want to get home before your mother throws another fit about the state of your clothes, though." He pointed at the rips and tears in his shirt and jeans from when the dummy had caught the fabric, or the multiple times he face-planted on the ground. "We'll be doing the same thing tomorrow, though. You've still got a long ways to go."

"Right." Stevie looked rather unenthusiastic about another day of this kind of training. His muscles were sore and aching, and Derek had managed to kick his ego down a notch.

"By the way, what are you telling your parents what you're doing?" He asked.

"Training for medieval fairs." Stevie grinned. "Would you mind if I took the sword with me as proof? My Mom is rather interested."

"Sure." Shrugged Derek. "Maybe tomorrow you should bring them by, and I'll just tell them I'm your personal trainer since you're going to be the star."

"Sounds great. That would get my Dad off my back about coming home looking like I've been in fights every day. Anyways, see you later." Stevie waved as he heaved the heavy sword over his shoulders for easier carrying.

Nearby in the trees, Eva stood, hidden away having watched the whole training session. So the star of the football team was involved in the secret too? And what on Earth was Meridian? The name of some stupid club they were in? The man in that little costume was a bit overkill if it was indeed a Medieval club.

Blunk suddenly caught the smell of something unfamiliar.

"Blunk, what is it?" Derek turned at once, reaching for his own sword at his waist. He heard the sound of a twig cracking as someone backed up.

"Someone new watching us, over there!" Blunk pointed a gnarled, green hand directly at Eva's hiding spot.

"Crap!" She muttered, tripping as she stepped backwards, and fell on to her backside right as Derek and Blunk came around the corner. She brought her arms up to protect her face, but the blow from Derek's sword never came.

"Eva... What the hell do you think you're doing?" Derek frowned after making sure to kick Blunk out of sight. He did not offer a hand to help her to her feet, instead he stood there stock still, clearly angry at her. Which was something Wanda had never seen before, his anger.

Once Eva was certain that she was not going to be on the receiving end of his anger, she stood up rather quickly and dusted herself off.

"I told you I'd figure out what you're up to. So you're part of some geeky Medieval thing? I never would of thought that the hottest guy in school was involved in something. And what about the girls you surround yourself with?" Eva got in to her stride. "And anyone else in school? Why doesn't Principal Knickerbocker know about this?"

"The girls know about this, and Knickerbocker doesn't need to know since we're not doing something to cause trouble." Derek frowned. He did not like having to lie, but it had to be done.

"Not doing something to cause trouble, right." Eva imitated him annoyingly well. "I said I'd find out what you're really doing, Derek."

"Is there any trouble?" Caleb had seen his son head out in the direction of the trees behind the condominium building, and wondered what was going on.

"Mr. Hale!" Blinked Eva in surprise, seeing how much like Caleb, Derek did look. Except for the eyes, she saw that Derek had his mother's blue eyes. "You do know your son and Stevie, the star of the football team, are involved in some kind of fighting program?" She said before Derek could say anything.

"A medieval group if I recall correctly. His girlfriend, and her friends and my daughter are all in on it." Nodded Caleb, seeing that this girl was trying to cause trouble. "Now unless you want to help out in picking up the heavy weapons, I suggest you get out of here and stop harassing my son. I am quite aware of the fact that you are trying to get his girlfriend in trouble."

Eva's mouth hung open for a moment in silent outrage, but she saw she had no choice but to leave. She stomped her foot with a yell of frustration, before turning on her heel and storming away.

"Thanks for the save, Dad." Derek scratched the back of his head.

"No problem." Caleb shook his head. "Listen, there's another reason I needed to talk to you- don't worry, you're not in trouble-" He added at the worried look on his son's face as Blunk untangled himself from the bushes he'd been kicked to. "The Oracle has sensed a disturbance in the balance of power here on Earth. He wants you and the Guardians to check out what Phobos is up to."

"How was he able to contact you then?" Blinked Derek.

"He didn't. He spoke to Elyon, who in turn spoke to Cornelia. You get the picture." Shrugged Caleb.

Wanda had finally finished the first of her three songs by the time dinner rolled around. The pile of garbage inflated twice the size it had been before by the time she was done, however.

"Thanks for your help," She said to the iPod as she put the technology in her pants pocket.

"No problem hon," The iPod's voice replied. "I enjoy our time together like this. Next time, though, make sure I'm fully charged. I'm completely drained... Drained, get it?"

"Ugh..." Sighed Wanda as she pulled out her phone. She was about to call her mother when it lit up, to show that it was Derek. "Derek!" She exclaimed in surprise. "Hi! What's going on?"

"Wanda, Kandrikar wants us to investigate what Phobos is up to. There's been an upsurge in power here on Earth. Can you ask your friends if they've felt anything?" Derek asked her.

Wanda felt a slight pang.

"So you couldn't just call to tell me hi, huh?" She muttered.

"What?" Came Derek's voice in surprise.

"Nothing, nothing. Hold on, I'll check with the girls." She said rather quickly. She found HuiLing, Cerella, Tress and Ingrid gathered around a table pouring over notes of their own kind in regards to decorating the auditorium for the concert. "Hey guys, the Oracles have felt a surge of power here on Earth, have you felt anything out of the ordinary lately?"

"You mean besides disgust at Ingrid's choice in the shade of red for the streamers?" Cerella looked revolted at the shades on the table.

"Come on, I'm serious." Wanda blinked at the glare Ingrid gave Cerella.

"Come to think of it, I sensed something weird yesterday..." HuiLing piped up. "It was like a chill through the wind, but there weren't any open windows in Mr. Collins' class."

"Tell me about it. My skin dried up." Cerella looked at her hands.

"Cerella!" Tress said in a 'stop joking around' tone of voice.

"Fine, if it makes you feel any better, I did feel a tremor in the Earth earlier." Cerella rolled her eyes. "It wasn't like an earthquake, otherwise we'd have been tossed under our desks. But it made my legs shake, how violent and cold it was."

"And I felt something in history class, like a cold fire being lit inside me." Nodded Tress, glad that Cerella had taken the hint finally.

"What I felt was more like a ripple through the water... the foretelling of a tsunami." Said Ingrid.

"So everyone's sensed it too... Apart from the oracle... I'd say it's time for a trip to Kandrikar." Derek's voice came up over the phone.

Wanda's eyes were narrowed. "I haven't felt anything. I'm not sure if we should be so concerned..."

"Come on, let's just go and see what's going on." Cerella flipped her hair around.

"Remember, when in doubt, check it out." HuiLing smiled broadly.

"Right... We'll meet you at Kandrikar." Said Wanda to Derek on the phone.

"See you there." Replied Derek.

"Now what's up?" Matt came over when he saw the girls all gathered around the same table. He recognized the look that something was wrong, having seen it so often on Will's face during her Guardian days.

"We've got a nine one one from Kandrikar, Dad. Can you cover for Tress for us? Come up with something so her Dad won't worry?"

"Sure thing. I'll make sure to tell your Mom to have a warm meal waiting for you." Nodded Matt, wanting to go with them, but he did have responsibilities here.

"Thanks!" Wanda gave her father a big hug around the middle before being dragged away by HuiLing.

"Hey Matt, where'd the girls run off to?" Nigel came over with the other band mates.

"Oh, they had to go grab something from my house for me. I'm not sure how long it's going to take because it's buried in that mess of an attic." Matt said quickly.

"I didn't know you had an attic." Blinked Nigel.

"Yeah, we've just never shown it to anyone because it's so dirty and cluttered... Anyways, let's get to packing up, shall we?" Matt made straight for the stage, and his band mates looked at each other.

Just outside of the school, Wanda, HuiLing, Tress, Ingrid and Cerella were standing in an alley way preparing themselves for the jump through the Portal.

"Ok, so everybody ready?" Asked Wanda, now that the girls had all called their Mothers to inform them what was going on.

"Yep." Ingrid nodded.

Not far was a very irritated and annoyed Eva, who had been stalking the town since she was booted from the condominium building grounds. She heard Wanda's voice saying something about being ready, and she hurried over to see what was going on. She saw the five girls standing there. Then she heard a sound like a thousand zippers being pulled all at once, a bright flash or sliver of light appearing on the brick wall, and then the five girls all walking in to it.

"What the...?" Eva stared, her heart hammering as she watched the girls vanish in to the light. She had no clue what was going on. First a weird creature Derek called Blunk, now this talk about Kandrikar and Meridian. She ran towards the portal, but by the time she reached it and tried to walk in to it as the five girls had done, all she found was solid brick wall and a massive headache. "I knew something was weird about them." Even as she tried pounding her fist on the brick wall, she couldn't help but think there was something familiar about that sliver of light. It was almost like a sense of

de-ja-vu.

Phobos looked at the four guardians that now stood before him, while Rhea and Cybelle stood on either side of him.

"Now, you will tell me where the resting spot of your leader Leila Corine is." Phobos said to the women.

"We cannot." Helena said after a long silence. "Because she went on to live a long, peaceful life after her duties had been passed on to another."

"I see... so after she retired from being a member of the Council before Halinor, Leila returned to a normal life in Heatherfield?"

"Yes. She gave up her powers, and had a family." Nodded Ila.

"Then I just need to find her descendant... And infuse them with Leila's spirit." Phobos muttered, more to himself than to Rhea and Cybelle.

"Hey." Ingrid waved at the Oracle as moments after the five girls arrived in Kandrikar, so did Derek and Blunk.

Wanda walked over to Derek and surprised him with a hug.

"What's with you?" She asked when she saw him blinking down at her.

"Nothing." He said, having half expected her to start yelling at him- for what he didn't have a clue- but he was relieved to find out she wasn't upset with him. He had heard her disappointment in him when he only called to talk about Kandrikar, and something that was wrong with it than themselves. He observed more than he let on, but he knew now wasn't the time for relationship woes. He would have to deal with that later.

"You wanted to see us, Oracle?" Asked Wanda after she broke the embrace.

"Yes." Nodded the elderly man, with Halinor standing close by. "Follow us."

They led the way to the room where the Oromirs were kept. There was something different about this room, though. It was not as bright as it had been the last time the girls had visited.

"What's going on here?" Asked Tress.

"We suspect that Phobos has been here, and now he is tampering with sources of magic on Earth." Halinor explained.

"Come again?" Blinked Ingrid.

"Several days ago, Phobos appeared on our doorstep. Before we could retaliate, however, his servant had poisoned us. We were knocked out for several hours, and the only thing we could discover being disturbed or damaged was the library." The Oracle went on.

"Wait... this servant of his, what did they look like?" Cerella blinked.

"We do not know, their face was hidden behind a mask. All I remember is seeing the form of a woman in black clothes before she sent a needle at me, then everything went black." Halinor answered this time.

"Rhea." Cerella balled her hand in to a fist. "Oh I'd love to pound her face in to the ground, then give her the ultimate fashion make over." She said as she slammed the fist in to the palm of her hand.

"Dude... rage much?" Blinked Ingrid at Cerella.

"Well, a first for everything." Shrugged HuiLing, earning a glare.

"We need to find out where Phobos is at and strike him before he can strike us." Said Wanda. "Nothing like a bit of aggression to catch the enemy off guard."

"There is one problem... We have not been able to locate him since his attack on Kandrikar." The Oracle said cautiously.

"Great... Hide and go seek with the most evil dude to threaten Earth, Meridian, Kandrikar AND Earth. Life's never dull for us." Ingrid rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest.

"You must use caution the next time you meet with Phobos. The surges of power you've felt could mean he has tampered with the Oromirs, or the sources of power on Earth.

"No worries, now we've got Wanda back, our group is more alert and tighter than before." HuiLing said cheerfully.

"In fact, we're so tight, in a few weeks we're taking a two week vacation to Disney World in Florida." Tress put in.

"Yes, I can see how a couple weeks of relaxation can be of use to you after what you've been through. Enjoy your time, but do not let your guard down even while you are there." The Oracle added.

"In the meantime, keep us informed of what happens with Phobos, and what he is up to. Derek, how is the training with Stevie progressing?" Asked Halinor.

Derek blinked, having recalled mentioning the training to them at one point.

"Huh? Training?" HuiLing stared between the two.

"Well, he's making progress. He's mastered the basics, and I've started him on the weapons handling." Derek said after a long pause.

"What's going on?" HuiLing hurried up to his side. "Huh? What kind of training?" She stared at him with big, black eyes.

Derek blinked down at her, then over at Wanda who had raised her eyebrow as a show of her own curiosity.

"Um... Let's just say Stevie wanted to be trained how to fight properly, that way he can be of some use to you, HuiLing. He wants to be part of... well, every aspect of your life." He admitted finally.

HuiLing stood away from Derek, looking pleasantly bewildered with a slight tinge of pink on her face.

"He's going through all that training just for me?" She said finally.

"Wow, HuiLing speechless... Never thought I'd see the day." Ingrid couldn't help the grin on her face.

"By the way, does Phobos know I have the Heart of Cepheus yet?" Asked Tress.

"No, and we would like to keep it that way as long as we can." The Oracle shook his head, and Tress nodded.

"Well, we should get going." Wanda said. "I'm not sure how long Dad can keep Grandma and Grandpa in the dark that we bailed on them." She summoned another portal, which would open up in her back yard.

"Right! Ok, let's get going guys!" HuiLing said, an oddly loud and high pitched tone to her voice as she went in the opposite direction.

"Um, HuiLing, the Portal is over here." Cerella pointed as the group watched her walk right in to one of the pillars.

"Ouch!" HuiLing exclaimed as her body made contact with the pillar that proved to be quite solid.

Wanda had to withhold her laughter at HuiLing's misfortune as a result of getting butterflies in her stomach. Which gave her the impression of looking like someone was strangling her for a moment.

Derek grabbed Wanda by the back of her shirt as HuiLing came pelting forward at top speed, so the two friends wouldn't crash in to each other.

The group reappeared in the back yard of Wanda's home. Once they were all through the portal, it vanished.

"Well, I'm beat. I'm going to head in for the night." Yawned Wanda.

"Yeah, and I've got to finish my homework too." Said Tress.

"I've got...uh... things to do too." HuiLing still looked as though she was excited beyond belief, and thrilled about what she had learned.

"And the sooner we can get away from Captain Giggles-a-lot, the sooner I can get my sanity back." Ingrid shook her head. She waved at the group before walking out of the backyard with Tress following shortly after.

"Yo, you coming?" Cerella asked Derek, looking back at her older brother.

"In a bit." He waved at her in clear dismissal.

Cerella shrugged, then followed HuiLing, Tress and Ingrid.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Wanda called, waving after them. Next thing she knew, Derek had wrapped his arms around her in a hug from behind. "Derek?" She looked up at him, an awkward thing to do from this position.

"Just wanted to say goodnight, is that a problem?" He smiled down at her, a gesture which she returned.

"I guess not." She reached up to tap the bridge of his nose.

He couldn't help but chuckle at her bit of sarcasm now that things had calmed down enough for them to spend some time together. He had a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him gently, then was about to kiss her when a voice from the back door caught them by surprise.

"Ah-hem."

"Mom!" Wanda jumped, and Derek gave an annoyed sigh.

"You'd better get in, it's getting late." Will said. She smiled at Derek before turning and walking back in.

"Sorry, parents are a pain." Wanda wrapped her arms around Derek in a tight embrace.

"Don't worry, I know she's just looking out for you. Like me." He bent down and kissed her before pulling away. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Uh... yeah." Wanda was smiling, her face pink just like HuiLing's had been. At least she could understand how HuiLing could become so flustered and hyper. She watched Derek follow the path his sister had taken a short time earlier, then the voice from her iPod brought her rudely back to reality.

"Are we heading in, or are you just going to keep standing here in a daze?" The voice in her pocket reminded her that she had put her iPod in the pocket earlier.

"Oh, r-right!" Wanda hurried inside. When she got in to the kitchen, she saw Susan, Dean, her mother, father and... "Uncle Bill? What are you doing here?" She blinked. Even though she had not seen her Uncle in years, she had no problem recognizing him as her Uncle, since he was pretty much a clone of her grandfather, but without the mustache. "If this is about Derek keeping me out late on a school night-" She began hastily.

"Don't worry, sweetie, we know he's a good guy." Susan couldn't help as she laughed.

"Then what's with the look as though you're sentencing me to life in prison?" Wanda stared around.

"Because, we have a surprise for you." Matt spoke up this time.

"And that is... not being grounded for life for being out later than the norm?" Wanda looked around hopefully.

"That...and...Um... Will, you tell her." Matt looked rather awkward suddenly, and Wanda had never seen this particular side to her father before.

"Let's just say you're going to be a big sister in about nine months." Will's happiness and excitement was apparently hard to contain.

Wanda stood there, flabbergasted and blinking.

"So, how'd it go?" Cerella had been waiting for her brother at the corner of the street, just out of sight.

"Not bad, could've been worse." Derek smiled nervously.

"Great. Listen, I'm working on a special project for Wanda and I'm going to need some input from you since HuiLing is currently on cloud nine over Stevie." Cerella started leading the way back home.

"Input about what?" Blinked Derek, his curiosity peeked.

"Her favorite colors, the styles you notice her wearing most often than not- both on Earth and Meridian- I mean." Cerella reeled off on her fingers as they walked side by side.

"So... you're cross-examining me about my girlfriend when you could just call and ask her yourself?"

"I'd rather keep my future sister-in-law in the dark about what exactly I'm planning." Cerella flipped her hair around.

"Sister-in-law! Who the hell said anything about MARRIAGE!" Derek demanded, his voice raising uncontrollably. He was particularly glad that it was getting darker by the minute, as his face had turned bright pink faster than a street light.

"Oh please, I can't really see you with anyone else, even if her tastes in fashion do need a bit of help. Besides, I'd much rather have her in the family than some snot-nosed little brat like Eva." Cerella smiled elegantly.

"You mean you'd rather avoid having a twin sister, right?" Asked Derek, earning a glare from his little sister.

Wanda fell backwards on her bed as the white cat transformed in to Mimiru.

"Long day?" Asked Mimiru.

"Very. Not only do I have Phobos to worry about around every corner I turn, now I've got a pregnant mother to keep away from him on top of all this. AND we've got to figure out a way to keep Phobos in the dark about us having TWO Crystals." Wanda pulled her iPod out of her coat pocket before plugging it in to her lamp.

"Child, if I might suggest some quiet music to help you relax? Maybe your collection of Yokko Kanno and Celtic Woman?" The iPod said in a helpful, quiet voice.

"Anything, so long as it helps put me to sleep and forget about today." Nodded Wanda as Mimiru turned away from her. She went over to her dresser drawers, and picked out a violet nightdress with a t-shirt top that went to her knees, untied the ribbon in front of her hair, then put the Heart of Kandrikar necklace on the table next to her as her favorite tracks started playing from Yokko Kanno's collection. She flopped on to her bed with a large yawn, enjoying the softness of her Afghan, which was quickly becoming her favorite blanket since her birthday.

Mimiru transformed back in to her cat form, and curled up in a patch of moonlight on the window sill next to Wanda's bed as Wanda got under her covers.

"Goodnight. And thanks Max," She said to the iPod.

"No problem kiddo." The iPod replied.

"I'll be waking you up at six thirty sharp, so sleep well." The Alarm Clock said as Wanda yawned, turning off her bedroom light, which flooded the room in darkness and pale blue moonlight.

The very next day at school, Wanda looked around for her friends, and saw them gathered around the bulletin board. Today she wore a purple t-shirt with a v-neck, a blue jean jacket, navy blue flared jeans, and white tennis shoes. Her hair was held back in a pony tail with her ribbon given to her by Derek, and she had her backpack slung around her shoulders with her beaded lizards jingling from the zippers.

HuiLing was wearing her Teal Blue Chinese style t-shirt with yellow gold trim, black shorts, and matching blue flat-bottomed shoes. Her black hair was up in pigtails today rather than the normal Chinese style braids.

Ingrid wore a horizontally striped dark blue and cerulean blue long sleeved shirt with a u-neck, flared blue jeans, a light blue belt around her waist, and cerulean blue tennis shoes. Her hair was held back in two short pig tails that day.

Tress wore a yellow ochre long sleeved, shoulder-less shirt with crimson red straps at the shoulders, blue jean shorts, orange and yellow horizontally striped socks that went just above her knees, and crimson red inch-thick platform shoes. Her hair was held back in a pony tail today, and she wore her glasses as usual.

Cerella wore a rose pink blouse with pouffy sleeves at the shoulders, a white skirt that went to her knees, and high heeled blue dress shoes that matched the shade of blue that her eyes were. Her hair as tied back in a single, yard long braid that day.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Community Service day this Friday. That's what." Ingrid sighed in dread.

"Community Service? Isn't that the same as Career Day?" Blinked Wanda.

"No... No, no no no no..." Cerella shook her head. "Career Day is what the school uses to show us how bright our futures are for those of us who want to make a living off of our hobbies and dreams."

"Right. Community Service day is to show us how bad life can get if you drop out of school early, fail to get a life, and wind up as a burden to society." HuiLing put in.

"Otherwise known as slow and painful torture for a whole freaking day." Nodded Tress. "Last year I had to stamp and close the envelopes at city hall. My hands were so sore and my fingers felt like noodles by the time I was done."

"We need to get here early if we want to get the jobs that don't totally suck." Cerella shook her head. "I am too pretty to be cleaning up the sewage pipes."

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!" Wanda said suddenly as Derek came up to the group. "My mom and dad are having another baby!"

"What? And you're just NOW telling us this?" Ingrid stared.

"Sorry, I was really tired this morning." Blinked Wanda, looking slightly windblown as Ingrid had shouted in her face.

"Oh! Is it going to be a boy or a girl?" HuiLing asked.

"We don't know yet. Mom's going to the hospital to look at it next week." Wanda was now smiling.

"Oh this is great! In a few years' time you'll have a loyal minion to do all your bidding without question!" Said Ingrid, earning four stares from her friends. "What? Doesn't anyone ever think outside the box?"

"You mean like you should once in a while with that poor sense of fashion?" Eva had come up to the group after hearing all the exited voices down the hall. Today she had her golden yellow hair in pony tails, and wore a light blue shirt with a v-neck, and a pattern dark blue butterflies on it, with a light blue, knee length skirt and dark blue pair of high heels.

"Oh look who's talking miss 'I just crawled out of a dumpster to look at last year's fashion.'" Cerella scoffed at the girl, who frowned. "I mean, look at that shirt... It looks like it's spent a year on that island from Lost. Gagariffic."

"For your information, this shirt comes from the highest rating French Magazine that can be imported in to this country, and another-" Eva began, but she was interrupted.

"Oh give it a rest, blondie- No offense Cerella-" HuiLing added and Cerella smiled kindly. "At least we're all cute enough that we don't have to dress just to impress."

"No offense taken." Cerella flipped her hair with her hand in her most imperial manner that she could muster for the moment.

At this point, Eva had stormed off.

"Well, that got rid of miss nosy." Smiled Ingrid as she watched the girl rejoin her small knot of friends by the lockers. The group made their way to the lockers from the bulletin board as well.

"Say, Wanda, what do you do with your Crystal when we're at school? Keep it in your pocket?" Asked Tress.

"So that it can fall out when I'm on the Porcelain Express? No way. I keep it safely hidden away in my backpack, which is in my locker." Wanda shook her head.

"But what if Phobos or one of his minions attacks us?" Derek looked alarmed at the thought that she didn't have the Crystal on her at all times.

"Please... what's going to attack us in my Grandpa's classroom? A blackboard eraser?" Asked Wanda, which caused HuiLing to burst out in a fresh fit of giggles from Derek's other side as she was trying to grab her history textbook. "We're far safer in school than anywhere else. No need to worry." She leaned forward and kissed Derek before closing her locker, her arms full of notebooks, textbooks, and a Sailor Moon manga Pencil Case that Tress had got for her on her birthday. "I'll see you after class." She said, smiling at his doubtful face.

He sighed, and returned the kiss nonetheless, watching the five girls make their way down the hallway to Professor Collins' classroom.

When Derek went down the opposite end of the hallway than the girls, Eva snuck out from her hiding place on the other end of the wall of lockers.

"A crystal, huh?" She muttered, and once the hall was cleared of all students and teachers, she went straight to Wanda's locker. "Good thing I know how to break in to these." She looked at the locker. Instead of being one with a code to crack, these had levers which lifted up with a key like a door. She pulled from her pocket a credit card.

"Good morning class," Mr. Collins was saying as Wanda took her seat next to the window as was her usual spot. "Now today I have something rather special... Since we've been covering the Civil War, I have a movie set that we're going to start. It's one of the best documentaries on the Civil War to date, and the assignment I have for you during the movie to make sure you're paying attention is to make at least three pages in notes on each section. Because at the end of this segment, there's going to be a test that will determine your grade for the first half of the school year."

This news was met with a loud groan of mutiny and dread from his students.

"Great, no pressure." Cerella sighed, her voice loaded in heavy sarcasm.

"If I know the documentary he's talking about... I've seen if fifteen times already." Wanda said, a look of dread on her face. "But this time I've actually got to take notes on it? Ugh! Grandpa, you know I'm terrible at note-taking!" She called out.

"That's why this will be great in learning new skills, Wanda." Dean smiled at his granddaughter as Odin set up the television- which was a large flat screen with DVD and High definition capabilities. "Since you'll be doing twice as much note taking in your later years of schooling than you have been."

"You know what? A mutiny is starting to sound pretty good right about now..." Ingrid muttered. "First Community Service day is looming on the horizon, and now this? Could this week possibly get any worse?" She asked as the lights went out in the classroom.

"Thank you, Mr. Lowe. Tell Donald I said hi." Dean dismissed Odin, who nodded at him in return, and smiled at Cerella who's face went the same shade of pink as her blouse as he left.

Eva had managed to break in to Wanda's locker within half an hour with no teachers or hall monitors finding her. She dug around in the front pocket of the backpack, pulling out Wanda's cellphone, her iPod, and calculator.

"Hey, hey! What's going on here?" Max's voice went unheard by Eva since only the Guardians could hear him. "Certainly not Wanda..."

"You should get some pictures of the thief, kid." Suggested the iPod.

"I'm on it, and without the flash that way she won't be alerted..."

Eva's hand finally wrapped around what felt like a jewel in the front pocket of the backpack. She pulled it out, and stared at the red jewel in awe before closing the locker door quietly. She nearly let out a yell of shock when she realized it was glowing brilliantly in her hands.

Mimiru was glad that she was always at the school, even if as just a friendly cat who liked to wander far from home. She knew Derek was outside for physical education first period, and he had to get to him first after she saw Eva steal the Heart of Kandrikar from the locker. Hiding in the bushes near the basketball court, she waited for when the basketball rolled near her.

"I'll get it!" Derek called to his teammates. He currently wore the school sports uniform- a red t-shirt, white shorts, and white tennis shoes. He received a terrible shock when Mimiru popped apparently out of nowhere. "Don't do that!" He gasped, looking around to make sure they were out of sight. "Now, what is it you need?"

"It's the Heart of Kandrikar. I saw that girl Eva break in to the locker and steal it." Mimiru said.

"What?" Exclaimed Derek in outrage. He checked his watch. They had fifteen minutes until break. And then he would only have five minutes to find the girls and come up with an excuse to leave the school building. "Go follow her, here's my cellphone." He handed it to her. "I'll find the girls as soon as I can and have Wanda give you a call to find out where Eva's taken the Crystal."

"Right." Nodded Mimiru. She put the phone in her pocket, before she transformed back in to the white cat most humans saw her as.

"Hey, Derek, what's taking so long with that basketball?" One of his teammates called after him.

Derek blinked, realizing what he was really supposed to be doing.

"Sorry, it got lodged in a weird spot!" He shouted back. He looked over at where Mimiru had been, but she was gone already. He grabbed the ball, then hurried back to the court thinking this class couldn't get over soon enough now. "Here." He tossed it back to Stevie, who caught it without a problem.

In Phobos' hidden palace on Meridian, a large group was gathered in the throne room with Phobos on the throne itself, Cedric standing to his right, Rhea and Cybelle on his left, and the four revived and entranced former Guardians directly behind him.

"The Heart of Kandrikar is on the move." Cybelle said suddenly. "And it's not on its usual schedule."

"Really now...?" Blinked Phobos. He glanced back at the four Guardians who stood behind him, stalk still. "This could prove to be beneficial." He raised his left hand, and the sand he used as a window in to the mortal world poured from it. "Show me the Heart of Kandrikar, and it's current bearer."

The image on the screen was that of a girl with golden blond hair in pigtails, and brilliant blue eyes. She stood on what looked like a green hill at the park in Heatherfield, while holding it out, looking as though she were trying to figure out how to use it.

"Guardians, is this girl a descendant of Leila Corine?" He asked.

There was a long pause.

"Yes. I can sense the same bloodline flowing through her veins. She is the great great granddaughter of our friend and ally." Tuula finally answered.

"Excellent... Now we shall go. Cedric, you, Rhea and Cybelle will stay here and guard the Castle in my absence." Phobos instructed. "I will have no intruders while my collection is incomplete." He stated.

"Yes, My Lord." The three bowed as he stood up. "Come, my Guardians. We shall welcome the fifth and final member to our little group."

Helena, Tuula, Galena and Ila lifted from the ground as Phobos used his staff to open a portal in front of him.

Wanda was digging frantically in her backpack after History class.

"You mean it's really not there?" Ingrid demanded.

"No! I normally check in between each class to make sure no one gets in!" Wanda said, her eyes wide in panic.

"The cell phone doesn't lie, sweet cakes!" The voice from her phone spoke up.

"Thanks for taking those pictures, Rob. Eva is SO dead when we get our hands on her." Wanda stomped her foot on the ground.

"Let's hurry and slip out while we still can." Derek said.

"Uh, you just had to say something earlier, didn't you Ingrid?" Cerella shook her head.

"What?" Blinked Ingrid, wondering what on earth she could have said.

" 'Things can't possibly get any worse'. Ring any bells? Thanks a lot for jinxing us." Glared Cerella in disbelief.

"Ok, caught red handed." Ingrid held her hands up in an 'I surrender' sort of way.

"Rob, can you get my mom on the phone?" Asked Wanda as the group snuck through the crowd of students that filled the halls.

"Sure thing, hon." The phone replied.

Moments later, Will's voice came on the phone.

"Wanda, what's going on?" She asked, sounding worried.

"No time to explain, Mom, but just to let you know, let's just say a certain Crystal's been stolen right from my backpack from a certain Eva from school and now we have to get it back. Can you come up with some sort of lie for us when our teachers realize we're not there anymore?" She asked quickly as Derek grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in to a hiding spot as a teacher walked by. She had no choice but to hang up on her mother before she was overheard.

"Great... how are we going to get to the doors without being seen?" Whispered a panicked Ingrid.

"Can we still use our powers to make some kind of a diversion for the teachers?" Asked HuiLing. "I mean, even though we don't have the Crystal on us or anything..."

"Worth a shot..." Muttered Tress. "Let me have a go..." She pointed her hand like shooting a gun with her pointer finger and middle finger, and found her target. There was a garbage can right outside the Principal's office, and down the hallway. She shot two balls of fire in their direction, and moments later...

"Ew, burning garbage. I thought my job on Community Service day last year stunk." HuiLing held her fingers to her nose to block out the smell.

As soon as the fire got large enough, the alarms in the school blared and the sprinklers started raining on them.

"Now's our chance, go!" Derek said, and the six friends hurried out the doors.

"Boy am I glad they haven't installed those new security cameras yet." Ingrid sighed once they were out of the building with the teachers now panicking and calling out orders.

"Thank you cuts in school funding." Nodded Cerella.

"Hurry, before they see us!" Derek ordered, and the group hurried off the school property, and in to a secluded alley way.

"Wanda, I gave my cellphone to Mimiru, so just call it and she should be able to answer and tell us where Eva took the Crystal." Derek said.

"Right." She dialed Derek's number, and indeed Eva answered. "Mimiru, thank goodness. Where did Eva take the Crystal?"

"She's at the center of the park, hurry! There's not much time before Phobos finds out somehow!" Mimiru's unusually panicked voice was on the phone.

"Do what you can to keep Eva from doing anything stupid with it! Let's get going!" Wanda hung up, putting the phone in her pocket. "Anyone know any shortcuts to the park?"

"Please, you've got a girl who used to play hooky from school when she was younger." Ingrid raised her hand as if to say 'well duh'.

Ingrid took the lead, and showed them through several alleyways in Heatherfield that made what would normally have been a long half hour run to a short fifteen minute trot.

In the meantime, Mimiru transformed in to her human shape, today she decided to wear a pink shirt with a u-neck and white trim, a pair of blue flared jeans, inch thick flat bottomed platform shoes with blue soles, and her silvery-white hair was up in a pony tail.

"Eva, put down that Crystal!" She called out as she approached.

Eva spun around when an apparent stranger called her name.

"Who are you? Do you know how to work this thing?" She asked, keeping a firm grip on the chain of the necklace.

"I am Mimiru, and I was once a guardian of that Crystal that you hold in your hands. Please, return it to me." Mimiru held out her hand to the girl as she reached her.

"No. I found this thing, and I know it holds some sort of secret that could really get my classmates in trouble if it was found out. So I'm going to keep it till I do." Eva stepped back from the woman.

"Please, Eva, you do not know the kind of powers you are tampering with!" Mimiru exclaimed, keeping her voice as steady as she could.

"I have a sense of it. I saw Wanda use it to make some kind of portal that she and her girls vanished in to. And something feels familiar about it that I can't quite place." Eva would have continued to step back, except for the fact that she heard the familiar sound that she had heard just the previous day, this time from behind her.

And instead of people going in to the portal, someone came out of it. A man in black robes with long gray hair, and dark narrowed eyes who carried a tall staff with a violet stone set in to the top in his right hand, followed by four women in the strangest outfits she'd ever seen.

"Hello, dear girl." Phobos said as the four women landed behind him. "You will hand me the Heart of Kandrikar now. Or face the consequences if you do not."

Eva stared at the man, thinking he looked as though he came right out of some medieval-based movie.

"Eva!" Wanda shouted when they reached the scene, clearly out of breath from having run the whole way.

"Wanda?" Blinked Eva, staring between Phobos, Mimiru, and now Wanda.

"You ok?" Cerella looked at Wanda, who already looked exhausted from the running.

"I'm a short distance sprinter, not a long distance runner." Gasped Wanda before looking back up. "Eva please, don't give the Crystal to Phobos! That's exactly what he wants you to do!"

Eva frowned. She'd never once listened to Wanda, so why should she now? Besides, Wanda had

stolen Derek from her when she came to Heatherfield, and she wasn't about to take any kind of advice from the girlfriend of the boy of her dreams.

"Sorry, but I don't take orders from fashion rejects and boy stealers." Snapped Eva.

"Yes..." Muttered Phobos. "Jealousy and spite are powerful things, especially when they fuel betrayal at its deepest levels." He held out his left hand. "Now, child, just give me the Heart of Kandrikar and you can be on your way."

Wanda burst in to a run even though she felt like she could not run another foot. She was up the hill as Eva held up the Crystal necklace. She was across the field, reaching out her hand as the necklace hung between Eva and Phobos, and felt her hand wrap around the Crystal.

"GUARDIANS UNITE!" She called out the moment her hand grabbed the crystal and she spun around on the spot.

"No!" Phobos shouted in rage as Wanda, Ingrid, Tress, Cerella and HuiLing reemerged as the Guardians of Meridian and Kandrikar.

Eva stared, wide eyed and open mouthed at what she saw before her.

"I knew it! You're super powered freaks!" She said.

"Brilliant deduction, genius." Ingrid shook her head.

"Eva, please, you do not know what you are doing." Wanda walked up to Eva. "I understand your jealousy. I'd feel the same if I were in your shoes."

"What are you saying? You don't know anything about me!" Exclaimed Eva.

"And you don't know anything about us. I guess that makes us even." Shrugged Ingrid.

"Enough of this... Eva, are you really going to sit here and listen to them as they try to emphasize with you when they have no right to do so after what they've put you through? Or do you want to know more about yourself, and why these girls and Derek have had to lie to everyone, including their own teachers, as to who they really are?" Phobos interrupted the arguments going on.

"Eva please, don't listen to him. His words are like a snake, if you let him in too much, he'll strangle you the moment you let your guard down." Wanda said.

"What do you know? You've never even talked with him I bet!" Eva snapped, her voice oddly high.

"You're wrong. I was once captured and imprisoned by him. He tortured me, and put me under his spells to control me and force me to fight the ones I care about the most. Please don't let that happen to you, Eva." Wanda looked at Eva, trying with all her might to will her to see reason.

"Too late. I want power, I want knowledge of what it's like to be more than just a rich, popular girl. I want everything..." Eva sneered.

"That... is just what I needed to hear." Phobos raised his staff.

"No!" Wanda shouted as the lightning shot from the violet stone on the staff, and engulfed Eva who screamed out in pain for a brief moment.

"Get out of there!" Derek pulled Wanda from the hill top from behind.

"But Eva-!" Wanda exclaimed.

"It's too late for her." Shegon's voice came from behind Ingrid, Tress, Cerella and HuiLing.

"Dad!" Wanda looked up from her spot in Derek's embrace before turning to watch what was unfolding on top of that hill. "What are you-?"

"I got here as soon as I could, Wanda, once your Mom filled me in." Shegon explained.

"Guardian from another generation, rise from your slumber and wake in the form of this girl willing to accept your power!" Phobos was chanting as the lightning continued to pour from his staff and wrap around the girl, who's eyes were now closed. "Rise up from your eternal sleep and serve Phobos the true heir to the throne of Meridian, with the power of the Scepter of Phobos as your Heart!"

Now Eva was completely engulfed in the lightning, the sound echoing eerily around the park. When she reemerged, she looked like an entirely different person. Her golden yellow hair was now hanging loosely to her waist, with a slight wave to it rather than being straight as it had been just a short time ago. Around her shoulders was an ultramarine blue cloak that went to her waist as well and held in the front with a pink chain that glimmered in the light around her as the lightning was fading, while her shirt was more like a pink tank top with blue trim, a v-neck, and it cut off two inches below the breasts, revealing her bare stomach. Her skirt went down to her feet, with two layers. The main color being pink with blue trim on the bottom, and the top of the skirt was ultramarine blue. The skirt itself had a slit in the front nearly up to her waist, which gave the impression of a blue and pink rose petal, and revealed that she wore the apple green and dark green horizontally striped Guardian tights, and her shoes were ultramarine blue, knee length boots with high heels. Her skirt at the top had the upside down crescent marks around her belly button in the shape of a heart, and were ultramarine as well. Her Guardian wings were the smaller set as well. Her normally bright blue eyes were now lifeless, empty and did not recognize anyone that stood before her.

"Eva! What have you done to her?" Demanded Wanda.

"Master, shall I attack them now?" Asked the woman, in a completely different tone of voice than that of Eva's.

"No, for now, we will return to my Castle. You are not yet strong enough to face them in battle." Phobos replied.

"Eva, wait!" Wanda shouted as the group turned from them on Phobos' command. She broke from Derek's grip and flew right at the five unfamiliar Guardians that were under Phobos' spells, and Ingrid, Tress, Cerella and HuiLing were quick to follow.

But Phobos was already gone, through the veil along with his Guardians, by the time they reached the spot where he'd been moments before.

"Oh boy..." Muttered Ingrid.

"This can't be good." Wanda landed on the ground, falling to her knees with a look of utter defeat on her face.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: **

**C is for Complicated **

"If only we'd have gotten here sooner, this might not have happened." Wanda said as Derek helped her to her feet.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, apparently Phobos needed Eva even without the Heart of Kandrikar." Shegon transformed back in to Matt as he spoke.

"UGH! I hate this... now we've got to rescue some girl who's not even our friend!" Cerella said in frustration."

"Yeah, but as ugly and non-fashionable as she is, even she doesn't deserve what Phobos is capable of doing." HuiLing looked thoroughly depressed over what had just happened.

"Either way, you've got to get back to school. Will's informed the Principal as to why you had to bail so suddenly, but we're not sure how long they're going to be kept in the dark in regards to Ingrid's track record." Matt said.

"And what exactly did mom tell the Principal?" Blinked Wanda, almost in dread.

"That the pet shop needed some help asap due to escaped animals. Now let's get a move on, we can't have you missing school so much." Matt said firmly.

"Fine..." Sighed Wanda, and the group returned back to their civilian forms.

"Ah, here you are. You girls gave us quite the scare, running off like that." Principal Knickerbocker said.

"Sorry, it was just easier to get all the animals back quickly at work with all of us helping out." Wanda said nervously.

"If it weren't for the fact that Ingrid went with you, I'd have been suspicious of her intentions. However, if you high tail it to your next class, we might forget this ever happened." Principal Knickerbocker winked. She then looked up at Matt. "Thanks for bringing them back once they were done, Mr. Olson. You should be getting a report card on Wanda's progress later today."

Wanda froze on the spot, causing Derek to crash in to her.

"What do you have to worry about?" HuiLing blinked.

"You mean apart from the fact that she was gone for nearly three months, missed half of school, and I had to take double notes for her to play catch-up with?" Smirked Ingrid.

"W-I-T-C-H hasn't exactly been good on G-E-D." Muttered Wanda in slight embarrassment. "I know mom knows about us and all, but still... Something tells me she and Dad won't exactly be thrilled with me tonight."

"Come on, you've had days to catch up on your schoolwork. How hard can two and a half months of make-up work be?" Asked Tress.

"For you miss genius, not so much, but for someone who hates studying to begin with, it's slow and painful torture." Snapped an irritated Wanda as they walked back in to the school building.

"Tell me about it." HuiLing nodded in agreement.

"Well, how about I help you get your grades back up?" Derek asked.

"Oh, a study date?" Cerella couldn't help herself.

"Ugh, what kind of guy do you think I am?" Blinked Derek in disgust, shaking his head. "At least I know how to separate personal life from school life. Besides, I'm taking Wanda out to dinner tonight after homework." He shrugged.

"You're no fun." Sighed Cerella, flipping her hair imperiously as she went back to her locker.

"I do appreciate the offer for help, I can barely understand math as it is." Said Wanda as she kissed Derek on the cheek.

"Then I'll just go home with you after school." Derek smiled at the kiss, remembering an incident several months back when they had been stuck in a cave on Meridian.

At lunch time, the group was gathered around a table in the cafeteria with their trays of food.

"You know, this may sound crazy, but I kinda miss that annoying little brat." Ingrid said as she ate her spaghetti, mixing it with her salad. "If she didn't bug us once in a while, school might be boring."

"You mean apart from Phobos attacking us every other day of the week, trying to kill us to get the Heart of Kandrikar, AND our midterms coming up?" Tress asked.

"Yeah, can't have boring, can we?" Muttered Wanda as she piled parmesan on to her spaghetti. "Personally, I don't miss her at all." She added through a mouthful of meat sauce.

"Wanda!" Blinked Tress in alarm.

"What? She was nothing but trouble for me, always trying to frame me for something I didn't even do, just because she's jealous of my boyfriend." Snapped Wanda.

"Come on, even Eva doesn't deserve what Phobos is doing. Sure she's annoying and a trouble maker, but that doesn't excuse the unwillingness to get her out of his spells." Tress waved her fork full of spaghetti at Wanda.

"Fine, fine, let's do what we can to save the annoying blond girl." Wanda bit down viciously on her spaghetti. "Happy now?" Her voice was full of a lack of enthusiasm in regards to the task ahead of them now.

"Thank you." Sighed Tress in relief.

Wanda hated the idea of having to save someone she did not even like, but she had no choice in the matter at this point. Which irritated her even more. On top of everything else, now she had to contend with rescuing Eva of all people.

"Hey, look on the bright side, at least things can't get-" Ingrid began.

"Say it, and I swear I will personally throw you head first in to the sewer pipes under the school the first week of football season." Growled Cerella.

"Ok, never mind." Ingrid busied herself with her lunch for several moments after that.

Wanda watched from the window of her math class as dark storm clouds rolled over Heatherfield. By the time the final bell for school day blared through the building, thunder was booming over head and lightning shook the windows.

"Oh, were you going to say something Ingrid? Like how things couldn't get any worse?" Snapped a very moody Cerella as they stepped on to the front entrance of the school. "I didn't even bring a rain coat and this is dry clean ONLY."

There was a particularly loud clap of thunder which caused a few girls nearby to scream and run for their parents' cars in the parking lot, then it started raining heavily on them.

"Don't look at me, I had NOTHING to do with this." Ingrid blinked when she got glares from all ends.

"Let's just get home without drowning, ok guys? I'll be seeing you later!" Wanda suggested hopefully. Now she had the Heart of Kandrikar hanging around her neck underneath the collar of her shirt. "Hey, there's my Dad!" She said, and hurried off with Derek following closely.

"Hey you." Matt said as Wanda threw open the car door. "Hey Derek."

"Hi Mr. Olson. You don't mind if I tag along, do you?" Derek asked.

"Sure, hop in."

HuiLing stared up at the sky wondering why it decided to torture them along with everything else that week, then started the long walk home in the rain. At the first stop light, the rain seemed to gain strength with the thunder.

"Oh great... I'm going to be the world's biggest living mop by the time I get home." She moaned while waiting for the light to turn. At that moment, a car drove right by her, which resulted in her being drenched in a wave of water from the puddle between the sidewalk and the street. She glared after the offending vehicle, then blinked when she realized that the rain was no longer touching her and looked to see that an umbrella had appeared over her head, and the source of that umbrella was... "Stevie!" She exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in ages!" She wrapped her arms around him in a big hug, which caused his face to turn maroon.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I've been kind of busy." Smiled Stevie nervously.

"Yeah, the girls and I managed to worm out from Derek what you've been doing." HuiLing returned that smile.

"There we go." Stevie said happily. "That's the HuiLing I know and love. Smiles suit you much better." He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

HuiLing was blinking rapidly for several moments as her face steadily turned red as the stoplight they were standing at. She then let out a squeal before jumping up. But instead of landing on the ground, she kept on rising.

"Woah there." Stevie grabbed her by the elbow to pull her back down to Earth, quite literally as a car drove by them again. He was glad that he was used to the fact that HuiLing had super powers by now, otherwise he would've gone in to shock seeing her floating in midair without any wings. "Let's get you home before someone sees you floating again." He said quickly.

Wanda was standing in dread as her parents went over her grades, and Derek stood nearby.

"Well, if Derek wasn't so eager to help get your grades up I would have said no more dates until you at least got a C in math. But Failing?" Will shook her head. "Wanda, even I figured out how to get passing grades in school while juggling double lives."

"Yeah... try worrying about what Phobos is doing, having to worry about your own mother, having to worry about keeping a secret from Phobos that one of your best friends is keeping a powerful Crystal on her, AND now on top of that, I've got to rescue someone I don't even like from Phobos." Muttered Wanda, turning her back on her parents.

"My statement still stands. No dinner date until you have spent at least two hours doing homework with Derek tonight." Said Will in a 'this is final' sort of way.

"Fine. At least let me grab some Diet Pepsi." Wanda pouted, moving to the fridge and grabbing herself a can of soda. "Ugh..Why can't I just drop out and join the crew of Dirty Jobs?" She moaned as she pulled out her textbooks from her backpack.

"Hey, the sooner we get this done and over with, the sooner we can head out." Said Derek as the two went in to the living room so they could spread out the homework on the coffee table while the rain seemed to become heavier by the minute.

"Mom! Dad!" HuiLing called when she arrived at her home above the Green Dragon with Stevie in tow.

"HuiLing, you're drenched!" Eric said, blinking at his daughter's appearance.

"Uh-uh, no way is my great granddaughter going to be leaving giant puddles of water everywhere like a walrus just out of water." YanLin said. "Go dry off."

"Sorry." HuiLing trotted off to her room.

"And who's this chunk?" YanLin smiled at Stevie.

"Um..." Blinked Stevie as he folded up the umbrella.

"Oh! You're that guy HuiLing likes so much!" HayLin said "And it's hunk, grandma, I've told you that before."

"Here's a towel." HuiLing had reappeared in dry clothes, with a towel for herself and Stevie. "He walked me home today from school. If not for him, I'd look like Ingrid after a water fight."

"Well, Stevie, why don't you stay for dinner? With that kind of storm out, no one else is gonna wanna come here." YanLin suggested.

"Sure?" Stevie looked around nervously as he took the towel HuiLing offered him. He was surprised to see that she had taken her hair out of its pigtails, and it was now hanging loose just past her waist when it wasn't up in some kind of style or fashion. He decided then and there that he liked how she looked with her hair down.

Cerella was busy in her room after having finished her homework, when she was done cross-examining her brother about Wanda, she started work on an outfit for her friend. She already had her large table in her room full of varying shades of purple as she sought to pick one or two for her friends' outfit.

"Ok... this one looks too gaudy..." She threw one of the rolls of fabric to the floor. "That one too goth... she'd disown me for life for picking this color..." The pile steadily grew on the floor of rejected shades, until she narrowed it down to two shades- dark royal purple, and pale lavender. Finally she settled on using the two colors in the same outfit, and set to designing the outfit itself. She had her papers spread out across the table with the colors from Prismacolor Markers and Pencils out as well.

"What'cha doin' doll-face?" Napoleon had jumped up on to the table.

"What are YOU doing here? I thought you were Aunt Lillian's familiar?" Cerella jumped, just as she was about to start sketching.

"Well, considering Lillian sensed a disturbance on her planet the last few days, then Cornelia informed her what you said about Phobos, she decided to pay another visit. She's with Corny right now."

"Well, why don't YOU stop bugging me so I can get to work on this?" Snapped Cerella as she pulled out her mechanical pencil and eraser.

"Naw, I'm gonna stay here. At least you have a sense of sanity from all this chaos." Napoleon stretched out his back before jumping up on the table.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Mumbled Cerella, glaring at the cat willing it to try something to give her an excuse to kick him out as she started sketching out the human female figure in order to be able to draw the outfits for Wanda that were coming to mind as she sat there.

Ingrid was in the living room at her home, playing a video game on her Playstation console with her mother and father sitting nearby reading. She was currently playing the Final Fantasy Ten game, watching one of the cut scenes with her eyes glued to the television screen as the rain pounded on the windows, and thunder shook the building at random intervals. There was a particularly loud boom of thunder, which in turn caused Martin to tell Ingrid to shut off the video game and turn on the news.

"You've been playing for four hours, now save your spot so we can watch the television." Martin said.

"Ugh, fine." Ingrid sulked as she saved her spot when the cut scene was over, and she sat in between her parents when the news came on moments later.

"This storm is going to last into the night, and possibly through the afternoon tomorrow. Make sure everyone's bundled up inside with lots of blankets! It's going to be a long one!" The Weatherman was saying. "Winds will start to pick up after eight P.M., and be up to fifty miles an hour in some areas. There's a good possibility of school being canceled tomorrow. I'm sure my son won't have complaints about that. And on a side note, make sure you've got those power generators ready just in case power is knocked out."

"Thanks Tom, we'll keep everyone posted on the progress of this storm front as it moves through Heatherfield over the next couple of days. This is going to be a doozy tonight." Said the news anchor on the left.

"I can imagine Cerella's not too thrilled right now." Smirked Ingrid. "Poor girl's not going to get a chance to work on her tan."

There was a loud knocking on the door.

"I'll get that." Said Irma. "Hello?" She opened the door and saw a familiar face on the other side standing on their front porch.

"Hi, is Ingrid home?" Asked Fusagu, looking as though he had just walked through the eye of the storm itself to get here.

Ingrid turned to see who it was and blinked for a moment, surprised to see Fusagu of all people at her front door step.

"Fusagu!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

"Oh, a friend of yours?" Asked Martin with a smile.

"You could say that." Said Ingrid nervously.

"Come on in, Fusagu. What brings you here?" Asked Irma, moving aside to let him in.

"Well, I got caught in the storm on my way home, and I remembered Ingrid's place was closest. I hope you don't mind me crashing here till the storm passes?" Asked Fusagu rather nervously.

"Not at all." Martin said. "Any friend of Ingrid's is a friend of ours. We're planning on having dinner soon if you'd like some."

"Thanks, Mr. Tubbs. I appreciate it." Nodded Fusagu.

Tress was watching the news in her room as she was working on a sculpture at her desk that afternoon. Her hands were covered in clay remnants while she glanced over at the television. She was glad that she didn't need video games for her entertainment. Nearby on the table she stood at sat the Crystal of Cepheus, which gleamed in the light of the lightning from the storm outside.

When suddenly a rank smell reached her nose that wasn't from the clay she was using, or smells from the storm.

"Mom!" She called through her open door, and a few moments later Taranee came up.

"Yeah, hon?" Asked Taranee.

"Is it me, or did the local dumpster move in nearby?" Tress looked over at her mother, who suddenly noticed the rank smell as well.

"Blunk." They both said at once.

They set about locating Blunk by following the smell of dumpster and old cheese throughout the house until they got to the back yard where the recycle bins were set, then they didn't have any problems finding him. They could see objects flying out of the recycle bins even in the stormy weather. After grabbing their raincoats and putting them on, the two went out back and Taranee reached in to the garbage.

Blunk let out a yell of surprise as Taranee pulled him out of the recycle bin.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Asked Taranee.

"Agh! Blunk find goods for trade!" Exclaimed Blunk.

"Right." Taranee did not buy this excuse for a moment.

Tress had her hands at Blunks face, with a ball of fire appearing at the palm of her hand.

"If Dad finds out about you, he's gonna throw a fit." She snapped fiercely. "Should we send him to Ingrids' instead, Mom? At least she can give him a bath without having to touch him."

At this, Blunk started squirming and trying to fight Terrane's grip that she had around the back of his neck.

"Not there! Blunk get too clean to be recognized by mama!" Blunk cried. "Trade fire girl's pretty gem for shelter from rain?"

"No go. Pretty Gem isn't for sale." Snapped Tress. "And how do you know about the Crystal of Cepheus anyways?"

There was an awkward silence.

"Well?" Asked Terrane as Tress brought the ball of fire closer to Blunk.

"Ack! Ok, Blunk be here keeping eye on fire girl on Queen's orders! Queen tell Blunk Phobos might find out about Pretty Gem, and Queen wants Blunk to watch fire girl so he can tell her if Phobos turns up."

"Ugh. Phobos would be a better smelling sight than that. Blunk, why don't you go to the shed instead? Dad never goes in there except for winter." Tress pulled away from the stench that reeked in her nose. "And next time I see or smell you, unless it's for a Phobos related emergency, I'm sending you to Ingrid for a two month bath."

At this, Terrane let go of the Passling, who at once scrambled at the threat of a bath.

"Well, that takes care of that. Let's get inside before we get sick, ok?" Terrane asked, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"You guys ready for dinner? I made some chili considering the weather." Said Nigel from the kitchen as the two came in to the home.

"Why can we not go now, Master Phobos? This would be a perfect chance to challenge those Guardians for their status." Galena suggested eagerly, tired of being made to stay in his castle this whole time.

"I need to ensure that your powers are in sync with my scepter. Things are still too unstable now for me to wish to send you away." Replied Phobos.

"You know, if you had used the Heart of Kandrikar, this wouldn't be a problem?" Stated Ila Nur, leaning against the wall in a bout of boredom.

"Enough." Snapped Phobos. "You will attack when I order you to. No arguments." He added as Tuula started to open her mouth. He thought that these guardians might be more trouble than they were worth, but they were still under his control. Their personalities were just incredibly strong to be able to show through his spells.

The storm lasted through the evening, and by the end of the day, Principal Knickerbocker called the students' parents to inform them that school had been canceled the very next day due to damages being too severe around the school to trust it with hundreds of students.

"Any chances they'll close the school on Community Service day?" Asked Cerella hopefully.

"Nice try. You're still going to school on Friday. Even if it is closed then, you'll have to take that class eventually." Cornelia looked down at her daughter's hopeful blue eyes.

"Kill joy." Grumbled Cerella.

"You two aren't going anywhere in this weather." Said Susan to Derek and Wanda once they were done with schoolwork.

"Derek, why don't you stay here and have some dinner with us? We'd love to get to know you better." Dean smiled.

"So long as you aren't cooking, you mean?" Will came around the corner, looking at her mother. "What do you guys want for dinner?"

"Pizza sounds good, actually." Said Wanda. "What?" She added upon a look from Derek.

"Didn't you have pizza at the school earlier this week?" He asked.

"So? Not the same as Hawaiian Pizza from the freezer." She snapped.

"Ok, ok. I'll heat some up." Will hurried to the kitchen with her step-father as Derek rolled his eyes.

"Sorry about this." He looked at Wanda, who smiled. "Looks like our dinner date will have to wait."

"No worries. Can't blame it if mother nature decided to go on a rampage." She hugged Derek around the middle. "You should probably call your parents, to let them know you're stuck though."

"Right." He suddenly remembered that Mimiru had not yet given him his phone back. "Mind if I borrow yours?" He asked, knowing it would be odd to Susan and Dean to be caught asking Wanda's cat if he could have his phone back.

"Sure, but didn't you have a cell phone?" Asked Susan.

"Yeah, I left it at school." Said Derek, looking rather embarrassed at himself.

"It's just in the kitchen, then, dear." Susan showed him to the kitchen, where he dialed his parents' number.

"Hi, Mom? I'm going to be stuck at Wanda's because of the storm. You can just let Cerella have my part of dinner." He said, then he heard Cerella yelling at him in the background about not being a pig.

"All right, but if the storm is calmed down tomorrow, come right home, ok?" Cornelia replied. "What happened to your cell phone?"

"I forgot it at my locker back at school." He lied again.

There was a pause, and he had the feeling his mother did not buy that excuse for one minute, but was glad when she did not make a scene regarding his phone.

"Ok, just stay safe, and tell Will and Matt we say hi." Cornelia said.

"Will do. Talk to you tomorrow." Derek gave an unseen nod before hanging up.

"Hey, why don't we go play on my Nintendo for a while?" Asked Wanda, suddenly appearing in the kitchen and making Dean jump. "At least until dinner is ready." She added at a suspicious look from her father.

"Sounds like fun." Derek decided some kind of entertainment was better than no entertainment during a storm.

"Keep the door open, Wanda!" Will called as the two went upstairs.

Wanda waved to show she heard her mother, before they rounded the corner.

"Honestly, it's like they can't trust you." Wanda shook her head.

"Do you?" He asked.

"Of course. You went out of your way just to try and get me back. And I've known you for a good part of my life. Why wouldn't I?" She looked back at him as she led the way up the stairs.

Derek smiled slightly, pausing on the stairs to watch her for a bit before hurrying to catch up.

Phobos sat on his throne, with his five new Guardians standing against the wall nearby.

"So what's your next move, Majesty?" Asked Tuula, being bored out of her wits.

"My next move will be to lull the Guardians of Meridian to a sense of security, while we pay a visit to my dear sister." Phobos stood up. "Now that I have my own Guardians, it is time to show them to her."

Leila smiled. Her hair was back in a pony tail, and she wore the clothes Eva had been in before Phobos attacked. Tuula wore a red and gold dragon chinese shirt with a slit on either side of her hips, black pants and boots, and her hair was in a single Chinese-style half braid. Ila Nur wore a bright red jacket, pink shirt with a v-neck line, a red skirt and pink shoes, while her red hair was short in the back with strands hanging loose over her shoulders in the front. Helena's sepia hair was naturally shoulder length and wavy, while she wore a green t-shirt with a u-neck and white trim, and her shorts were tan capris. Helena's shoes were black, and she wore white socks. Galena wore her blue shirt with a v-neck and light blue trim at the bottom, she also wore a Japanese style school girl mini skirt, flat bottomed blue shoes, and white socks.

"Guardians Unite." She said casually, almost bored once Phobos nodded. There was a flash, and she and her friends reemerged in their Guardian form. "And conquer." She said the last half of her statement as though this was the most exiting thing imaginable.

Fusagu blinked at the meal he was being served that night- chicken soup with hot tea.

"Thanks Mrs. T." He said to Irma.

"No problem. With this crappy weather, I figure that this would be perfect. Martin should be done with the garlic bread in a bit. Martin! Where's that Garlic Bread?" Irma bellowed, causing Ingrid to wince at the noise.

"Coming, Captain Cutie!" Martin's voice called from the kitchen, which caused both Irma and Ingrid to wince in humiliation as Fusagu chuckled at the mortified look on Ingrid's face.

Martin came out with a foot long, flat white plate with what looked like sliced French bread with home made Garlic butter spread on it.

"Mom, can I disown Dad, please?" Asked Ingrid.

"Awe, come on. It's not that bad." Martin grinned, messing up his daughter's hair.

"Hey, at least your Dad hangs around long enough to annoy you." Fusagu piped in. "Mine's always out doing something government related."

"Lucky you." Mumbled Ingrid as she grabbed herself some garlic bread.

Elyon was wandering the halls of her palace, finding it hard to believe that she had been just as old as Wanda and her friends when she found out that she was the true ruler of Meridian. She saw Raithor standing guard on one of the balconies facing the entrance gate of the castle.

Raithor looked over at his Queen and bowed,.

"Hard to believe it's been nearly thirty years since Meridian was liberated from Phobos' control." Raithor said, looking out over what was the luscious land that used to be wasteland pocked with marshy jungle. Now below the castle thrived the sprawling city that was once a gloomy village.

Abruptly, the scene changed as with a flash of light, Phobos appeared at the edge of this city built in the style of old English villages. He wasn't alone this time either. Elyon saw five young women hovering behind him, as well as Rhea, Cybelle, and Cedric.

"Are those the guardians?" Asked another of Elyon's Royal Guard.

"No. They would never side with Phobos. This must be some trick or spell by my brother." Elyon was staring up as the black haired guardian raised her arms straight up.

What looked like a small cyclone appeared, engulfing her, then grew larger and larger until it was the size of a tornado, and when she directed the palms of her hands at the castle, the tornado started moving towards the elegant building that towered over the city below them. While ripping up homes and small farms on the way, which caused debris to start flying, and screams to echo up at Elyon who was frowning.

"Raithor, go find Blunk. He should be here today. Tell him to get the Guardians back from Earth immediately or he gets a nine month bath with scented soap." She snapped. "I'll hold off Phobos as long as I can." She raised up her right hand, directing it at the tornado. A beam of light shot from it at the tornado, which was dispersed just as it reached the gates of the castle. Loud crashes shook the building as the rubble fell to the ground. When she glanced back, Raithor had gone.

Leila frowned when the Queen dispersed Tuula's attack. She brought up both her hands, with black lightning shooting out, and around her before being sent in a single wave at the Queen of Meridian, who's blue eyes narrowed as she prepared her counterattack.

It was the next morning, and Susan walked in on her granddaughter arguing with the toaster.

"I'm hungry and I have a big test today. So unless you want to see something REALLY electrifying, Judy, I suggest you give me my toast!"

"First, I'd look at the door and see who just caught you yelling at me." Judy replied.

Wanda blinked, then looked over.

"Grandma! Hi...!" She said, her face bright red from embarrassment.

"I'm not going to ask why you're talking to the toaster... your mother went through that same stage." Susan shook her head, walking by as the toaster popped back the golden brown cinnamon toast at Wanda.

"Heh..." Wanda stared at the toaster as Derek walked in, his brown hair sticking up at odd ends since he had to sleep on the couch, and he had a pale groggy look on his face. She smiled and walked over to Derek, reaching up- standing on her tip toes because she was so much shorter than he was- and straightening out his hair as Dean came in, walking around the two.

"Don't let us intrude." Came Matt's voice from behind.

"DAD!" Wanda jumped away from Derek, her face beat red.

Derek coughed to cover the awkward moment.

Tress was woken the next morning to hearing silence outside her door, but a rancid smell reached her nostrils from her window. She let out a yell when she saw Blunk's eyes staring at her from the window, and pulled shut her curtains as Blunk fell backwards in to the hydrangea bushes outside.

After she'd gotten dressed, however she opened the curtains back up.

"Blunk!" She shouted in outrage as she pulled open her window. The last thing she needed was for her father to find out about Blunk. "What do you think you're doing? If my Dad catches you here, we're BOTH dead."

"Gah, Blunk have message from Queen! Need guardians back on Meridian!" Blunk gasped, as Tress yanked him out of the hydrangea bushes by the neck of his collar, while pulling her nose with her other hand. She tossed him on to the grass before grabbing her white crystal necklace and put it around her neck before jumping out of her window in pursuit of Blunk as he tumbled out of sight right as her mother came tearing around the corner in search of the offending smell.

"Sorry mom, can't stay for breakfast. Emergency in Meridian." Tress explained. "Blunk, why didn't you tell me sooner!" She demanded.

"Blunk tried! But storm too loud!" Replied Blunk indignantly.

"Well... least we don't have school to worry about now... come on you overgrown stink bug... let's get the others!" Sighed Tress as Taranee watched her daughter boss Blunk around. She pulled her cellphone from her pocket, and started making phone calls at once as she ran.

A short time later, the group was gathered behind Wanda's house, Fusagu, Derek and Stevie included.

"Guardians Unite!" Wanda called out the transformation phrase, and the flash of light engulfed the five girls. Moments after, they reemerged as the Guardians of Meridian once more.

"And let's hope we're not too late!" Said Ingrid as the portal appeared when Wanda sliced the crystal through the air.

Wanda glanced back, seeing her mother watching them through the kitchen window. Fortunately, Dean still had papers to go over for his history class, and Susan had house work to do. She had talked her father down from leaving with them, saying that they had plenty of protection with Fusagu, Derek and Stevie joining them in the battlefield. She also knew that her mother would be prime target if any of her former enemies found out she was pregnant, so Matt had no choice but to stay. It wasn't as though Dean could just be thrown in to the fight if they were attacked, after all.

"Come on!" HuiLing's voice called Wanda back to the present rather rudely, and she was shoved through the portal that she'd just made for them.

On the other side, Wanda let out a yell as she landed on the dining table in the Great Hall of the castle of Meridian. The sounds of battle could be heard raging around them from the outside, and Wanda was ever so grateful that it wasn't breakfast or supper time as she stood up.

"Nice one." Grinned Cerella, looking at where the other end of the portal came out.

"I was distracted, ok?" Snapped Wanda as Derek helped her up and off the table.

"Come on! Let's go help the Queen!" Said Fusagu, sensing another argument was coming and reminding them what they were there for.

To reach the battlements faster, the five girls took to the air as the three young men started running as fast as they could through the halls of the castle, simply following the crashes and bangs that they heard.

When they were met with the sights of the five new Guardians Phobos had created not even a full day ago, and the Queen fighting with Raithor and her soldiers to fend them off. As well as Phobos himself standing on the ground with his staff raised as his own soldiers ran past him right at the castle walls.

"Hurry! Derek, you Stevie and Fusagu join the foot soldiers!" Wanda shouted at once, and the three men did not need telling twice as they ran to join Raithor as they were building shields, sending large bowlders from catapults at the attackers, and finding ways to fend off Phobos' foot soldiers. "Come on!" She shouted at her friends, and the five girls flew off right at the attacking Guardians.

"It's them! They're here!" Shouted one of Queen Elyon's soldiers in elation at the sight of the five Guardians who were flying ahead of them.

"Don't drop your guard!" Cried Elyon as beams of golden light shot from her hands ripping apart the ground beneath the attacking soldiers feet.

The Guardians of Meridian faced Phobos' Guardians in mid air high above the castle, ready for whatever was thrown at them as they distracted the girls from attacking Elyon and her castle to focus on the untimely arrival of the true Guardians of Meridian.


End file.
